"I don't play in the Club World Cup."
Cristiano Ronaldo dismissed the possibility of participating in the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States.
Ronaldo's contract with his current team, Saudi Arabia's al-Nasr, expires at the end of June. Alnasr failed to advance to the Club World Cup, but the possibility of a Meho match between Lionel Messi and Ronaldo at the Club World Cup in the United States has been drawing attention as FIFA President Gianni Infantino raised the possibility of Ronaldo moving to a team that will play in the Club World Cup in May.
However, in an interview, Ronaldo, who reached the Nations League final, made it clear that he would not go to the Club World Cup.
Asked about the possibility of signing with another club to participate in the Club World Cup, he dismissed "There is no point in discussing issues other than the national team at this time." Then "I will not participate in the Club World Cup. I've received a lot of invitations and contacts from some clubs, some have meaningful offers and others haven't, but I can't try everything. You can't catch all the balls"There is no possibility of a transfer to the club World Cup participating team in June."
Ronaldo declared on his SNS right after the last game of the Saudi Arabian professional league last month that the possibility of a transfer was raised, but a series of media, including BBC Sport, are mentioning the possibility of extending the contract. It was reported that the club is confident in extending Ronaldo's contract. Ahead of the Nations League final between Portugal and Spain on the 9th, Ronaldo declared, "(My decision to skip the Club World Cup) is almost final."
Ronaldo chose to go to al-Nasr in the Saudi league shortly after the end of his contract with Manchester United in 2023. He scored 99 goals in 111 games and showed off his strong performance even at an unbeatable age with 35 goals in 41 games last season. Ronaldo also played for 89 minutes in the semifinals against Germany, leading his country Portugal to the Nations League final with a come-from-behind goal that led to a 2-1 victory.
When many viewed the final match at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, at 4 a.m. on the 9th as a showdown between 17-year-old Spanish rookie Ramin Yamal and the haphazard Wolkle striker Ronaldo, Ronaldo said, `It was always the case. Whenever I played a big game, Cristiano Ronaldo vs. this guy, that guy. It has been like that for over 20 years. Now those words don't make me stay up all night anymore. It's normal work. They are a completely different generation. One generation is the beginning and the other is the end stage." "It's not really a personal match. It's a team-to-team match. Always have, always will. What I want the most is for Portugal to be at a great level and to play well with confidence that things can go well and win against the best team in the world, a very good team."
Reporter Jeon Young-ji sky4us@sportschosun.com
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
