RedBird, the Fund That Owns Milan, Eyes a Run at Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr

First it was a rumor, then an awkward question in an interview, and now it's almost a half confirmation. Gerry Cardinale, founder of RedBird Capital Partners, admitted that his firm is exploring the possibility of taking over Al Nassr, the Saudi club captained by Cristiano Ronaldo.

Al Nassr currently belongs to Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), so this is no ordinary deal. When asked about reports linking RedBird to a potential purchase, Cardinale didn't deny it, though he also stopped short of confirming anything definite.

There have been conversations to evaluate the Al Nassr opportunity and I was contacted to look into it, but we're at a preliminary stage. I do a lot of work in the Middle East.Gerry Cardinale

Here's where it gets interesting. According to the reports circulating, Cristiano Ronaldo, 41, could end up as a co-owner of the club he's played for since 2023, right in the middle of a potential acquisition led by RedBird. Ronaldo's contract with Al Nassr runs through June 2027, so there's plenty of time for something like this to take shape. Cardinale was direct about his intentions regarding the Portuguese forward.

I'd like to meet with Ronaldo because I'm curious to know what he might want to do once he retires and what his future involvement with the Saudi club could look like. I'm going to keep evaluating the possibility of running multiple clubs, even though I already have Toulouse and Milan.Gerry Cardinale

And that's the key to all of this: RedBird is no longer a firm that just looks at numbers. It bought 85 percent of France's Toulouse FC in 2020, and two years later closed the deal to acquire AC Milan. Adding Al Nassr would be another step in that strategy of collecting clubs across different continents, with the Middle East as the next board to play on.

Ronaldo keeps piling up goals in the meantime

While the business talks move at their own pace, Ronaldo isn't slowing down on the field. On Thursday he scored a hat trick against Al Kholood in a 5-3 win in the Saudi Pro League, closing in on a round milestone: he needs just 15 goals to reach 1,000 for his career.

Among those in attendance was boxer Oleksandr Usyk, who didn't hold back the praise, calling him "an alien." Ronaldo himself celebrated the performance on social media.

Great win, great team performance. Happy to help with a hat trick.Cristiano Ronaldo

Between a possible change of ownership at the club and a forward who keeps closing in on numbers few have ever touched in the history of soccer, Al Nassr has made headlines twice over this week.