Club World Cup: Ronaldo Declines Participation

Cristiano Ronaldo has affirmed that he will not participate in the Club World Cup, despite receiving offers from participating clubs. This announcement comes ahead of the tournament scheduled to take place in the United States starting June 15.

The Club World Cup will be hosted in the United States commencing on June 15, featuring 32 teams vying for the championship.

Speculation arose regarding Ronaldo’s potential involvement following remarks by FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who mentioned ongoing discussions about the possibility of the then 39-year-old (now 40) competing, despite his current club, Al-Nassr, not qualifying.

Fernando Hierro, Al-Nassr’s sporting director, stated the previous month that the club was in negotiations with Ronaldo for a contract extension but faced competition from numerous clubs interested in signing the Ballon d’Or winner.

Ronaldo himself hinted at his departure from Al-Nassr in a social media post after his final match of the season, sharing a photo of himself in the Al Nassr jersey with a cryptic message: “This chapter is over. The story? Still being written. Grateful to all.”

When questioned about the possibility of joining another club to be eligible for the Club World Cup, Ronaldo responded:

“It’s irrelevant; it doesn’t make sense to talk about things other than the national team. There has been plenty of contact (from clubs); I see things that make sense, others that don’t. You can’t go to all of them (clubs); you have to think short, medium, and long term. It’s something that’s practically decided on my part, which is not to go to the Club World Cup, but I’ve had plenty of invitations,” he stated.

Ronaldo recently scored the decisive goal in Portugal’s 2-1 victory over Germany, securing their spot in the UEFA Nations League final against Spain.

The upcoming final is being billed by fans as a showdown between Ronaldo and 17-year-old Barcelona talent Lamine Yamal, a notion Ronaldo dismissed.

“It’s always been like that, whenever I’ve played football, whenever I’ve played a big game it’s always been Cristiano against this one, against that one,” Ronaldo commented. “It’s been 20-something years and it’s still the same, it doesn’t keep me up at night anymore, it’s a normal thing. They’re completely different generations, a generation that’s starting out, another that’s finishing, which is my case.

“In reality it’s not like that, it’s a team against a team. It will always be like that… What I want most is for Portugal to be at a good level, confident that things can go well, that we can play a great game and win against a very good team, possibly the best in the world.”