Cristiano Ronaldo could reunite with a former teammate as Al Nassr will reportedly attempt to sign Marcus Rashford

Cristiano Ronaldo could soon find himself sharing a locker room with a familiar face at Al Nassr, as the Saudi club is reportedly preparing to make a move for Marcus Rashford, according to transfer insider Pedro Almeida.

The report indicates Al Nassr are set to attempt an approach for the Manchester United forward, whose future at Old Trafford continues to look increasingly uncertain.

After a loan spell at Barcelona that ran through the 2025-26 season, the Catalan club opted not to activate the €30 million option that would have made the move permanent, and reports indicate United have no plans to negotiate a fresh loan arrangement either. That left Rashford with no clear role in the club’s plans, and little indication his situation will resolve itself without a transfer.

According to the report, Al Nassr are well-positioned financially to meet Rashford’s salary demands, and could offer him a prominent, guaranteed role in their attack. Notably, Al Nassr aren’t alone: According to The Telegraph, more clubs from the top of the Saudi Pro League are said to be monitoring Rashford’s situation.

There’s also an issue with the forward moving to Saudi Arabia: Rashford is reportedly prioritizing a move to a club competing in the Champions League, which raises the question of whether a move to Saudi Arabia fits what he’s actually looking for at this stage of his career.

Ronaldo and Rashford’s history at Manchester United

Rashford has long cited Ronaldo as his boyhood idol, having grown up watching him during United’s earlier era, and the pair actually got to share a locker room when Ronaldo returned to the club in 2021 for his second tenure in Manchester.

Across that stint, Rashford and Ronaldo played together 39 times, with Cristiano taking an active role in mentoring the younger forward on positioning and movement during that period.

When Ronaldo’s second spell at United came to an end, Rashford didn’t hide how much the experience meant to him: “It’s been an unbelievable experience to play with him. He’s one of my idols and someone I’ve always looked up to, so to have the opportunity to play with him was unbelievable,” he said during a 2022 press conference at England’s World Cup base in Doha.