RedBird Capital Partners is considering purchasingf Saudi soccer franchise Al Nassr, the firm's founder, Gerry Cardinale, confirmed Friday.

American Gerry Cardinale's (C) investment management firm, RedBird Capital Partners, purchased Italian soccer franchise AC Milan in 2022. File Photo by Riccardo Antimiani/EPA UPI

Oct. 30 (UPI) -- RedBird Capital Partners is considering purchasing Saudi soccer franchise Al Nassr, the firm's founder, Gerry Cardinale, confirmed Friday.

Reports surfaced over the last two weeks about a potential purchase by the American investment management firm. Cardinale told Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport that the firm's talks to buy Al Nassr are "at a preliminary stage."

Al Nassr, led by Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo, is owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. RedBird Capital Partners owns AC Milan of Italy's Serie A and Toulouse of France's Ligue 1.

The firm also purchased a minority stake in Fenway Sports Group, which owns Liverpool of England's Premier League, MLB's Boston Red Sox and several other sports franchises, in 2021.

"There have been conversations to evaluate the Al Nassr opportunity, and they've contacted me to explore it, but we're still at a preliminary stage," Cardinale told Gazzetta dello Sport.

"I work a lot in the Middle East: I'd like to meet Ronaldo because I'm curious to understand what he might want to do when he retires and what his future interest in the Saudi club will be. I'll continue to evaluate the possibilities of a multiclub deal, considering that I already have Toulouse and AC Milan."

Ronaldo, who earned Ballon d'Or of All Time honors this week from France Football, joined Al Nassr in 2023. The 41-year-old scored three times in a 5-3 win over Al Kholood on Thursday to move within 15 scores of 1,000 goals for his career.

Al Nassr (9-1-1) and Al Qadsiah (9-2-1) both have 28 points atop the Saudi Pro League standings. Ronaldo won his first league title with the club in 2025-26.

He signed a two-year extension in 2025. That deal expires in June. Ronaldo told Vogue this summer that this was "probably" the final year of his soccer career.

Al Nassr will play Uzbekistan Super League club Pakhtakor in an AFC Champions League group stage match at 8:45 a.m. EST Monday in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.