No. Cristiano Ronaldo’s Saudi club Al Nassr are not one of the 32 teams that will be competing at the inaugural FIFA Club World Cup later this year. Although there are rumours circulating that the 40-year-old Portuguese international could be set to make a sensational summer time swap to one of the competing teams.
Could this really happen? Will we see Cristiano Ronaldo’s name in the Club World Cup top scorer betting odds? Even if CR7 does end up playing at the tournament, what are the chances of him facing off against Lionel Messi? Read on to find out…
The Current State of Play
Al Nassr did not qualify for the Club World Cup. Al Hilal – the team currently 6 points ahead of Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League – are the only representatives from the oil rich kingdom. When the news broke that Al Nassr would not be involved in the upcoming FIFA organised tournament, speculation regarding a move for CR7 began.
That speculation was largely based on the fact that the Portuguese superstar’s contract expired in June of this year, which is when the Club World Cup commences. The fact that the tournament begins in the middle of the month and Ronaldo’s contract expires at the end of the month seemed irrelevant to those circulating the rumours.
Then, in February of this year, Ronaldo and Al Nassr appeared to put to bed all rumours by announcing that the forward had signed a contract extension that would keep him with the club until June 2026.
FIFA Club World Cup theory dead in the water, right? Well, not exactly. Since then a FIFA spokesman has confirmed that clubs will be allowed to sign players in the month ahead of the tournament in a ‘special transfer window’.
Knowing FIFA’s particular penchant for money and attention, it seems from the outside that this ‘special transfer window’ has been set up with one person and one person only in mind – Cristiano Ronaldo.
How Likely is a Transfer for Cristiano Ronaldo?
For a club to purchase or loan Cristiano Ronaldo for the Club World Cup, it would have to make financial sense. Despite the rumours circulating that Real Madrid, Inter Milan and a host of other top European clubs are circling, it seems highly, highly unlikely that a major European outfit would fork out the money necessary for a 40-year-old forward.
After all, how much more exposure do teams like Real Madrid really need? There are however plenty of teams for which a special transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo would make good business sense. Although when we say ‘plenty’, we actually mean three and here’s why…
**(If Ronaldo does feature at the FIFA Club World Cup, it won’t be with Al Nassr.)
Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi
That is what people want to see. They don’t want to see Ronaldo cutting a forlorn figure on his own up front as his team get slowly dismantled by superior opposition, nor do they want to see him come off the bench for 5 minutes in a 7-0 routine win for a European super power.
In addition to that, there is the very real possibility that Inter Miami will fail to get out of their group with Porto and Palmeiras looking like the two most likely to finish first and second. So in order to get the star-studded clash between CR7 and Messi, the Portuguese would have to join one of the other three clubs in Group A.
Finances would likely rule Al Ahly of Egypt out of the running, so it would come down to a deal with either Porto or Palmeiras. Both of which could feasibly be tempted to make the deal for the exposure and marketing opportunities.
In terms of personal preference, CR7 would also be foolish not to want to join either of these teams for the tournament as both are objectively better than Inter Miami so would give him a good platform to finally ‘settle’ the Messi vs Ronaldo debate.
**(Sit back and enjoy the Greatest of All Time…)
Our Verdict: Will it Happen?
No. Cristiano Ronaldo is too old and too ineffective to be of interest to the majority of teams at the tournament with the financial clout to afford him, and too expensive for those who could use him. What will happen though is that FIFA will find a way to organise a friendly between Al Nassr and Inter Miami in the week or so before the start of the tournament so that the paying public can get the marquee clash they want