Cristiano Ronaldo is out of this summer’s Club World Cup, despite receiving multiple offers that could have seen him play.
Al Nassr did not qualify for the Club World Cup, which began on June 14, with Al Hilal the SPL’s sole representative.
Ronaldo’s deal with the Saudi Pro League (SPL) side Al Nassr expires at the end of June.
The 40-year-old player could have moved to a team competing at the tournament in the United States, after FIFA gave nations the option of introducing an extra transfer window from June 1-10. There is also a mid-tournament registration window around the turn of the month.
Given his expiring contract with Al Nassr, it had been speculated that one of the 32 clubs taking part in the first expanded edition of the Club World Cup may look to sign Ronaldo ahead of the competition.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino added to the speculation when he said there were “discussions” and Ronaldo “might play” for a team at the tournament in an interview with YouTuber IShowSpeed last month.
Discussing Lionel Messi competing in the event with his MLS club Inter Miami, Infantino then added:
“And Ronaldo might play for one of the teams as well at the Club World Cup. There are discussions with some clubs, so if any club is watching and is interested in hiring Ronaldo for the Club World Cup… who knows, who knows.”
“There have been a lot of conversations, but there are certain things that I see as making sense and not making sense,” Ronaldo said at a news conference on Saturday ahead of Portugal’s Nations League final against Spain, via Record.
“You can’t go to everything, you have to think short, medium and long term. I’ve pretty much made up my mind not to go to the Club World Cup, but I’ve had plenty of offers.”
When he was asked about playing with Messi at the end of their careers, Ronaldo said: “You never know. You know I have a lot of affection for Argentina, my wife is Argentinian.
“You can never say, ‘I won’t drink from this water’, but it’s difficult. I want to go to Argentina, I have a lot of affection for the Argentinians and for Messi. We were rivals for many years, for 15 years. I used to translate for him at the galas, I’m very fond of him, he’s always respected me and I him.”
Ronaldo moved to Al Nassr from Manchester United in December 2022 and has scored 99 goals in 111 matches for the Saudi Arabian side.
