It wasn’t how Cristiano Ronaldo wanted his first Hampden appearance to go as the Portugal superstar threw a tantrum after a stalemate with Scotland.
But could he have been racking up the appearances at the national stadium in the colours of Celtic or Rangers with a move to the Scottish Premiership before facing Steve Clarke’s battling side? In a resurfaced interview towards the end of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner ill-fated second spell at Manchester United, Piers Morgan claimed that a move to Glasgow could have been on the cards – if either club could offer Champions League football.
The 39-year-old would bring the curtain down on his Premier League career with a mega-money move to Saudi side Al-Nassr. Following the deal in January 2023, Morgan brushed aside claims that the move was based on money and insisted that the lure of keep his record as the highest-ever goalscorer in Europe’s elite competition could have tempted him to move north of the border.
Speaking to talkSPORT in January 2023, Laura Woods asked Morgan: “Can I give you a quick scenario? If the Scottish Premiership had the money that the Saudis do, would you have the same opinion if Ronaldo went to play there?”
Morgan replied: “Ronaldo would have gone anywhere that had Champions League football. I know for a fact because he repeatedly told me what he really wanted to do was extend his Champions League career.
“He has most of the records in the Champions League and he wants to extend them, probably so that Messi can’t catch him and that he ends up as the GOAT of Champions League football.
“That was his motivating factor. I do believe that he’s driven more by records and legacy than he is by money.
“He’s already got half a billion pounds so it’s not like he needs a few quid in Saudi Arabia; he just happens to be getting a stupendous payday to build football there from a very good platform of beating the World Champions (Saudi Arabia defeated Argentina in their opening game of the 2022 World Cup).
“So things did change a lot in the last few months in terms of the narrative of football in the Middle East. It was a tremendous World Cup for the region generally, so it looks a little less crazy than it would have done six months ago when Saudi were a complete irrelevance in football.”
Ronaldo didn’t need a move to the Glasgow giants to outscore his rival Messi – who has now also left Europe behind for Major League Soccer side Inter Miami. Ronaldo boasts a tally of 141 goals in the Champions League compared to Messi’s 129.