Gerry Cardinale has revealed his American investment management firm RedBird Capital Partners is exploring the option of acquiring Al Nassr.
Al Nassr, captained by Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo, is owned by Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia.
Asked about ongoing reports that Red Bird Capital Partners wants to acquire Al Nassr, Cardinale told Gazzetta dello Sport: "There have been discussions to assess the Al Nassr opportunity and I was contacted to look into it, but we are at a preliminary stage. I work a lot in the Middle East."
According to reports, Ronaldo, 41, could be in line to become a part-owner of Al Nassr, the club he has played for since 2023, under a takeover plan led by RedBird Capital Partners.
Regarding Ronaldo, whose contract with Al Nassr expires in June 2027, Cardinale said: "I'd like to meet Ronaldo because I'm curious to find out what he might want to do when he retires and what his future involvement with the Saudi club might be. I'll continue to assess the possibilities of managing multiple clubs, although I already have Toulouse and AC Milan."
RedBird Capital Partners acquired an 85% majority stake in the French club Toulouse FC in 2020 and completed the acquisition of Italian giants AC Milan two years later.
- Cristiano Ronaldo goal tracker: Road to 1,000 career goals
- Cristiano Ronaldo pips Lionel Messi to win 'Ballon d'Or of All Time' prize
- Ballon d'Or of All Time public vote results: Full rankings
Ronaldo, meanwhile, crept closer to his 1,000-goal career milestone by scoring a hat trick against Al Kholood in a 5-3 win in the Saudi Pro League on Thursday. He is 15 goals short of 1,000.
He was described as "an alien" by boxer Oleksandr Usyk, who was in attendance.
"Great win, great team performance," Ronaldo posted to social media. "Happy to help with a hat trick!"