Days before the start of January transfer window, FIFA make decision on Cristiano Ronaldo-led Al-Nassr’s ban on new signings

FIFA have lifted the transfer ban on Cristiano Ronaldo-led Al-Nassr ahead of the January transfer window. The Saudi Pro League side will now be able to sign players they want in the winter window.

Al-Nassr were among the clubs banned from signing players when FIFA released the list on December 19. They had pending payments to be made to Manchester City for the signing of Aymeric Laporte, which was reported to be €9 million due on August 31, 2025.

According to a report in GOAL, Al-Nassr have cleared the payments owed and have thus seen their restriction removed. A similar ban was placed on the Saudi club in 2023, when Ahmen Musa's performance-related bonuses, reported to be around £390,000, were not paid. They managed to get the ban lifted, but had to pay reparations of €2 million.

Fabrizio Romano has also confirmed that Al-Nassr are free to sign players in January and posted:

“IFA verdict today confirms Al-Nassr’s full compliance with rules as the registration ban has been permanently lifted. The case is closed, key news for Al-Nassr ahead of 2026 plans for the club.”

The Cristiano Ronaldo-led side are on top of the Saudi Pro League and are looking to sign players to bolster their squad. They got Joao Felix and Kingsley Coman in the summer, and have since been linked with Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski.

Al-Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo would have made a bigger impact in MLS, says ex-USMNT star

Former Inter Miami star Brek Shea has claimed that Cristiano Ronaldo would have made a bigger impact at the club than Lionel Messi. He believes that the Argentine is 'very quiet' and the Al-Nassr star would have drawn more attention to the club and the league. He said (via GOAL):

“I think Cristiano Ronaldo would have had a bigger impact in MLS than Lionel Messi. No disrespect to Messi, but Messi seems like a homebody. He's very quiet. He doesn't speak the language quite well yet. So I just think Ronaldo seems more outgoing, does more things in the public eye." “So I think just on that, speaking the language, doing interviews, I think would have just automatically had a bigger impact. I'm strictly speaking off field stuff. I don't know if he would have put up the same numbers, but a bigger impact? Yes, he would have.”

Cristiano Ronaldo has signed a new deal at Al-Nassr, keeping him at the club until 2027.

Edited by Sripad