Former Man United coach explains why Cristiano Ronaldo could be tempted to join Wrexham – and points out similarities between the Portugal legend and darts star Luke Littler

Former Man United coach Rene Meulensteen has claimed that a transfer to Wrexham could be a good career move for Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ronaldo is currently the captain of Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr and has scored 74 goals in 85 matches for the Riyadh club.

The 39-year-old is under contract until next summer but he is widely expected to sign a new deal, either with Al-Nassr or another club, as he targets 1,000 career goals.

Ronaldo scored the 909th and 910th goals of his senior career last week in Portugal’s 5-1 win over Poland.

He also recorded some impressive figures in the world of social media recently.

Ronaldo – who is already the most-followed person on Instagram with more than 643million followers – launched a YouTube channel, ‘UR Cristiano’, in August and has since gained over 68m subscribers.

Ronaldo previously played for Man United, where he worked with Rene Meulensteen (left)

Meulensteen believes that Ronaldo could be interested in a possible future move to Wrexham

The former United and Real Madrid star’s decision to grow his online presence appears to suggest that he has no intention of allowing his celebrity status to fade away after he stops playing football.

Meulensteen – who worked with Ronaldo during his first spell at Old Trafford – can imagine the Portuguese pursuing an acting career in Hollywood one day.

As such, Meulensteen believes that Ronaldo may be willing to consider a move to Wrexham before he retires from football as it could help him build his profile even further, as well as seeing him link up with celebrity owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

‘Cristiano Ronaldo to Wrexham? Anything can happen in football,’ Meulensteen told TribalFootball.com. ‘The main things he would consider are could he be successful in that environment and could he be a success there.

‘It’s an intriguing idea and with his new profile on social media it might help that stretch into Hollywood with the Ryan Reynolds connection.

‘Who knows, he might end up being the next James Bond. If he wants to go down the film and celebrity route then in terms of Wrexham I say go for it.’

Wrexham currently sit third in League One with 28 points from their first 15 games this season, having earned back-to-back promotions in the previous two campaigns.

Ronaldo was only 18 when he first joined United.

Meulensteen believes that there are some similarities between how Ronaldo was as a youngster and current 17-year-old darts sensation Luke Littler, who won the Grand Slam of Darts last weekend to take his career earnings beyond £1m.

Ronaldo started a YouTube channel in August and recently had Mr Beast (left) on his podcast

Wrexham AFC are currently owned by actors Rob McElhenney (left) and Ryan Reynolds (right)

Darts star Luke Littler has already won more than £1m in prize money before his 18th birthday

‘I can see similarities between Luke Littler and a young Cristiano Ronaldo,’ Meulensteen added.

‘You can see the natural talent there but also the determination to be the best in the world at such a young age.

‘If you look at Littler throwing darts from three years old, there are parallels with Cristiano’s determination as a child and his own passion to be the greatest ever.

‘Cristiano made sure that football was always his biggest priority and it looks like Littler is playing darts with freedom and that’s why he is doing so well.’

Littler won 15 consecutive legs during his 16-3 win over Martin Lukeman in the final of the Grand Slam.

The teenage sensation is currently rated as the favourite to win the PDC World Darts Championship in January next year.