With no disrespect intended to a league then ranked 66th, there was little other than financial gain that could have been behind the Portuguese legend's decision.
Insane transfer figures
The figures being spoken about at the time - £177m per year for a 37-year-old - were scarcely believable, but the knowledge that Ronaldo would become the poster boy for the league and offer other players a glimpse into what was on offer was clearly a marketing masterstroke.
First, a trickle and then a tidal wave of world footballing talents decided to swap wherever they had been plying their trade, for the Middle East and the promise of never-before-seen riches.
Within months, the sniggering had stopped, though Ronaldo scored a huge own goal a little while later after a distasteful tirade against Ligue 1, which was plainly incorrect.
"The Saudi league is better than Ligue 1. In France, only PSG exists - the rest are finished. If you don’t believe me, try running in 39 or 40 degrees and see."
Those words were said at the Global Soccer Awards ceremony that you might think had been designed specifically for Ronaldo to win everything. No Ballon d'Or? He got the 'Best player in the Middle East award.' No award for goals? Ronaldo was bestowed the 'Greatest goalscorer of all time award.'
A consummate professional... but a poor attitude
It doesn't get said enough, but that ceremony, like so much of what surrounds the player, is sycophantic, so it's no wonder that when he doesn't get his own way, Ronaldo - and by extension his family members - still react like 10-year-olds.
Many have been the times on the pitch, for example, when he's thrown his arms up in anger because a colleague has scored instead of him.
He is, and has been, the consummate professional from the very first time he set foot on a pitch, but the attitude he brings with him if something isn't right should never be overlooked.
Now, unbelievably, Ronaldo is taking aim at the Saudi league itself. A league that has made him the first footballing billionaire and is paying him a reported £488,000 per day.
He has apparently taken umbrage at certain decisions and has gone on strike.
Just imagine that for a second. A soon-to-be 41-year-old man, earning almost half a million pounds per week, is having a strop because he can't have his own way.
He surely can't believe that he is more important than the game's paymasters? He, like any other player, is an employee, and as such, needs to learn to respect the decisions of his peers.
Read more: Ronaldo set to miss Al Nassr's next match
Benzema's move is a point of issue for Cristiano
One of the points of issue Ronaldo has at this moment is that his former Real Madrid colleague Karim Benzema moved to league favourites Al Hilal in the January window, whilst Al Nassr weren't really strengthened. That smacks of jealousy and isn't a good look.
The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), which essentially bankrolls the big teams in the league, have fallen under Ronaldo's wrath, apparently because of management interference that Al Nassr recently suffered too.
Ronaldo has, it would seem, a belief that his team are being overlooked in favour of others, which apparently means that, at present, his return to action solely depends on the prompt reactivation of the powers of Al Nassr's management.
It's a huge game of brinksmanship to be playing at this stage, and it wouldn't really be a surprise if this were the end of the golden road for the golden goose.
Impressive numbers
If that scenario were to come to pass, one might expect the entire fabric of the Saudi league to eventually collapse and dwindle back to how it was before the mass foreign influx.
For Ronaldo himself, it would leave him in footballing limbo with just a few months to go before the World Cup.
There are clearly no clubs in the top European leagues that would be able to come anywhere close to his salary, so not only would he have to prove he is better than any striker a club has in situ at present, but he'd have to take an astronomical pay cut too.
His numbers remain impressive, of course. 117 goals and 22 assists in 133 performances across all competitions for Al Nassr deserve praise, and his current level of fitness would still put players half his age to shame.
He might not be able to hack it in the top divisions any longer, but it would still be inherently wrong to knock his professionalism.
Does he do enough left in the tank for any club to take a punt, though?
Is Ronaldo's time up?
When being unveiled in Saudi back in 2023, Ronaldo said his "work in Europe is done," and that he "turned down many opportunities in Europe, Brazil, Australia, the US, and even Portugal."
Now, three years after those statements were made, has he burned bridges both elsewhere and in Saudi?
Were there to be no quick resolution to the current impasse, a potential move back to his first-ever club, Sporting, might be a good way to bookend his career. It might be the only way.
That 'return journey home' appears to have been mooted before, but what will be most interesting to see is if the opportunities that Ronaldo spoke of - but turned down - might still be on the table.
If not, could we really be close to seeing an enforced retirement for one of the greatest players to have ever played the game?
