Piers Morgan provides Cristiano Ronaldo Saudi Arabia update

Morgan and Ronaldo are the best of friends, apparently.

Piers Morgan has provided an update on Cristiano Ronaldo's start to life in Saudi Arabia, both on and off the pitch. Ronaldo made the move to the Middle East to join Al Nassr shortly after conducting an explosive interview with Morgan, in which he criticised the state of affairs at Manchester United. The duo have formed an unlikely friendship in recent years and the Talk TV host revealed that the 37-year-old has texted him to let him know how he has settled into his new surroundings in Riyadh. "Is he happy? Definitely," Morgan told Tatler.

"I’ve swapped a few texts with him, and he’s absolutely loving it, on and off the pitch."

Ronaldo is yet to score in any of his opening two appearances and was recently knocked out of the Saudi Super Cup after Al Nassr were beaten 3-1 by Al Ittihad in the semi-finals. Morgan has been a strong defender of Ronaldo's decision to move to Saudi Arabia, claiming that his new venture outside of Europe actually gives him the edge over his long-standing rival, Lionel Messi. "Thanks to the fall-out from our interview, Ronaldo signed the biggest transfer deal in football history, and is now the world’s highest-paid athlete, at the age of 37," he added. "He’s also doing what he’s done throughout his career, and which for me gives him the edge over Messi, and that is challenge himself in a new country, and new league, at a time when football in the Middle East is really taking off, as we saw at the Qatar World Cup where Morocco reached the semi-finals and Saudi Arabia beat the eventual winners, Messi’s Argentina. "Ideally, I think he’d have preferred to play for another top club in the Champions League for a year or two, but Al Nassr made him a staggering offer, and I think the fresh challenge of raising the profile of football in a new region of the world, at the twilight of his incredible career, really appealed to him."

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Related links.

• Cristiano Ronaldo told Jorge Mendes they were ‘done’ if he failed to find big transfer
• Cristiano Ronaldo struggling to find £4,500-a-month chef due to his crazy demands
• Piers Morgan defends Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr move