Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr favorites to sign exit-linked Barcelona star this summer: Reports

Al-Nassr are reportedly looking to add Barcelona star Andreas Christensen to their Cristiano Ronaldo-led squad. The Danish star is said to be their new target after they backed out of a deal for David Hancko.

As per a report in Fichajes, Al-Nassr are keen to bolster their defense and see the former Chelsea star as an ideal fit. Barcelona are willing to sell the Danish defender as they have enough players in the position for Hansi Flick to use this season.

Al-Nassr reportedly had an agreement in place with Feyenoord for Hancko and the defender was set for his medical. However, they opted out of the deal in the final minute, leading a spokesperson from the Dutch club to tell ESPN that it was a 'scandalous' decision. GOAL quoted them as saying:

"It's truly scandalous how a club would treat a player this way. This has never happened before."

Hancko has now joined Barcelona's LaLiga rivals Atletico Madrid, while Al-Nassr continue to look for a defender. They believe that Christensen can bring in the experience and stability needed in the backline to replace Aymeric Laporte, who has been left out of new manager Jorge Jesus' pre-season squad, along with Otavia.

Laporte has been linked with a move back to Athletic Bilbao this summer.

Former Barcelona star hits back at Cristiano Ronaldo's Saudi Pro League claims

Sergio Aguero spoke to Stake earlier this month and said that it was premature to call the Saudi Pro League one of the best in the world. The former Barcelona striker disagrees with Cristiano Ronaldo's comments, adding that the league needs to be consistent for years and cannot be judged based on a few games at the FIFA Club World Cup. He said:

"It'd be a pointless controversy to jump into. If Ronaldo's statement is right and the Saudi Arabian league is indeed among the top of the world, that will be proved throughout the years. Certainly not through a single match. I personally think that it has shown very respectable growth recently, but it'd be premature to call it one of the biggest in the world."

Al-Hilal drew with Real Madrid and defeated Manchester City at the FIFA Club World Cup, leading fans to repost comments from Cristiano Ronaldo about the Saudi Pro League. However, the Middle Eastern side were beaten in the quarterfinals by Fluminense, who lost in the semifinal to eventual champions Chelsea.

Edited by Sankalp Srivastava