Ronaldo will not be part of the FIFA Club World Cup despite speculation and discussions by clubs to have him.
Cristiano Ronaldo will not play at Club World Cup despite ‘plenty of invitations
Despite being courted by teams in the 32-team competition, Cristiano Ronaldo has stated that he has no plans to play in the Club World Cup in the United States. Last month, speculation regarding the Portugal forward’s future grew when Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, stated that talks were on about Ronaldo playing even though his club, Al-Nassr of Saudi Arabia, did not qualify.
Asked about the possibility of signing for another club in order to play Ronaldo said: “It’s irrelevant, at the moment 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, 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.”
Fernando Hierro, the sporting director of Al-Nassr, stated last month that the team was in talks with Ronaldo about extending his contract, but that they were up against teams that were keen to sign the five-time Ballon d’Or winner. Ronaldo’s social media statement, “This chapter is over,” increased the ambiguity. The narrative? It is still being written.
At Munich’s Allianz Arena, the site of Sunday’s final matchup with Spain, the 40-year-old scored the game-winning goal as Portugal defeated Germany 2-1 in the semi-final. The Portugal captain downplayed rumours that he and 17-year-old Barcelona starlet Lamine Yamal are facing off.
“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,” he said.
“It’s been twentysomething years and it’s still the same. It doesn’t keep me up at night any more, it’s a normal thing. “[We] are 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.”