Saudi club Al-Nassr in '$50 million bid to reunite Zidane with Ronaldo': report

French footballing legend Zinedine Zidane could sensationally link back up with Cristiano Ronaldo at Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr, according to media reports.

The former Real Madrid manager has allegedly been offered upwards of €50 million per season to manage the Riyadh-based club, Portuguese sports journalist Pedro Almeida claimed. 

"EXCL: Al Nassr wants #Zidane as new head coach, and is preparing an offer of more than €50m to present to French coach," the Twitter pundit predicted.

There has been no comment from Al-Nassr or Zidane about the claims, but The New Arab has approached the Saudi club for comment.

Luring Zidane to Riyadh, widely considered to be one of the best managers in the game, would be a major coup for Saudi football, particularly after it failed to attract the kingdom's tourism ambassador Lionel Messi to Riyadh-based Al-Hilal this week.

Saudi Arabia has looked to expand its brand name in the world of sports, in particular football, with a takeover of Premier League side Newcastle United and the signing of stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.

Most recently, Zidane has been linked to Italian giants Juventus, after reportedly turning down offers to move from Manchester United or Paris Saint-Germaine. 

Saudi clubs have been spending big on attracting some of the biggest names in football, after Al-Nassr’s signing of Ronaldo, with a reported salary of $75 million per year – rising to a potential $200 million through commercial agreements with the club.

This week, French footballer Karim Benzema signed a three-year deal with Al-Nassr’s rivals in Jeddah, Al-Ittihad, reportedly worth a staggering $321 million.

There are also reports that Al-Nassr’s city rivals Al-Hilal were keen to bring Lionel Messi to the country for a purported $430 million, though the Argentine star rejected the move and instead signed for Inter Miami.

Italian football journalist Fabrizio Romano and others have said that the Saudi Pro League is looking to use its extensive resources to lure some of the biggest names in world football to the kingdom including Barca stars Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, and Chelsea striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

The reports come on the back of Saudi Arabia announcing that the four top domestic clubs in the country - Al-Nassr, Al-Ittihad, Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli - would hand over ownership to the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, known as the Public Investment Fund, worth an estimated $600 billion.

Zidane, whose parents are Berbers from the Kabylia region of Algeria, has in the past spoken of his pride in his roots in the Arab world, telling Esquire magazine: "I have an affinity with the Arabic world... I have it in my blood, via my parents... I'm very proud of being French, but also very proud of having these roots."