Al-Hilal president Fahad ben Nafel says talks with Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo are continuing.
Ben Nafel says it was not Ronaldo who pulled the plug on their initial offer.
Instead, he claimed a transfer ban placed on the Saudi Arabian side proved the critical blow.
Ben Nafel told the Thamanya YouTube channel: “Yes, we negotiated with Ronaldo.
"The problem was not in the money or the principle, Al-Hilal is able to bring in the stars of the world.
"But it was in the decision of the Sports Arbitration Centre that prevented us from registering the players.
"We did not stop negotiating with the players despite the decision to ban, but we were delaying entering the final stage of the negotiations until the ban was lifted."
Al-Hilal were slapped with the sanctions which prevented them bringing in any new players after Mohamed Kanno's transfer fiasco saw him registered for two clubs at the same time.
