Real Madrid captain Nacho Fernandez has less than 10 days remaining on his contract, and while there has been no announcement regarding his future, the veteran defender is on the verge of a move to Saudi Arabia. Despite serious talks with Karim Benzema’s Al-Ittihad, Al-Qadsiah are now best-placed to sign him.
Nacho, 34, had more or less agreed terms with Al-Ittihad, but with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) yet to set the budgets for the government-backed clubs (Al-Ittihad, Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr and Al-Ahli), they could not sign off on the deal just yet. Talks cooled just days before the Euros.
Now L’Equipe and Relevo are reporting that Nacho will join Spanish manager Michel at Al-Qadsiah. They are owned by oil company Aramco, and do not need approval to set their budgets, meaning that Nacho is likely to be the first big Saudi signing of the summer.
It had ben rumoured that Nacho preferred Major League Soccer, and that he was marshalling doubts over his future in recent weeks, but it appears that Saudi Arabia will be his destination. After an entire career at Real Madrid, Nacho is set to cash in after the Euros.
