
Cristiano Ronaldo will not play at Club World Cup as a decision on his future is ‘almost final'
The 40-year-old's contract with Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr, who have not qualified for the tournament in the United States, expires at the end of June.
Earlier this year, FIFA president Gianni Infantino raised the prospect of Portugal captain Ronaldo joining one of the sides involved in the competition, which starts next Saturday.
We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity.
Please review your details and accept them to load the content
But speaking ahead of his country's Nations League final against Spain on Sunday evening in Munich, the forward said: 'I will not be at the Club World Cup.
'Some teams reached out to me. Some made sense and others did not, but you can't try and do everything. You can't catch every ball.'
Ronaldo's club future remains unclear.
We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity.
He posted 'this chapter is over' on social media following Al-Nassr's final league game of the season in May.
However, according to reports, he could agree a new deal to remain with the club he joined from Manchester United in 2023.
Five-time Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldo revealed a decision on his future was 'almost final'.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Irish Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Heimir Hallgrimsson responds to Brian Kerr's criticism of a key decision
Heimir Hallgrímsson has batted away criticism from Brian Kerr of Ireland's summer friendly opposition. The Boys in Green impressed in Friday night's 1-1 draw with African giants Senegal, and on Tuesday they are away to Luxembourg. Former Ireland boss Kerr was speaking back in March when he questioned the wisdom of playing both countries - particularly Senegal - ahead of the World Cup qualifiers later this year. 'I don't know what the point is of playing Senegal, given that we are going to be playing either Denmark or Portugal,' he said, ahead of Portugal's win over Denmark, which put them into Ireland's group. 'Our next matches are against Hungary, Denmark or Portugal and Armenia, so I don't really get that one.' It should be noted that during Kerr's time as manager, Ireland played Australia, Canada, Brazil, Nigeria, Jamaica and China in friendlies around European and World Cup qualification games. Hallgrímsson wasn't aware of this, but was quick to respond with an explanation for the choice of Senegal as summer friendly opponents. 'I'll answer this one and it's a really easy answer,' he said. 'First of all, it was difficult to find an opponent in this window because a lot of the teams are playing World Cup and others already decided who they would play in friendlies so there was not a lot of options. 'Senegal was playing England and that is a world-class opponent and we wanted a strong opponent. 'Like I said inside, we wanted to play a really strong team and that was probably the strongest we could get. 'It wouldn't have been the correct way to do it, to play maybe two teams below us in the FIFA rankings. It wouldn't be the same. 'To play different opponents is healthy and challenging for the players, with different kinds of threats and we can develop our game playing against opponents like these. 'And if we qualify for the World Cup, we need to play teams from Africa, Asia etc so it's a good preparation. 'There is not a lot of games we can have if we qualify to play these opponents.' There were plenty of positives to take from Friday's game, including individual performances from players such as Ryan Manning, Will Smallbone and goalscorer Kasey McAteer. On Southampton's Manning, who played in an advanced role ahead of Robbie Brady, often drifting inside to allow Brady space to attack, or dropping back to cover for the Preston man, Hallgrímsson was delighted with his display. 'He is growing in this role that we have given him, he is getting to start game after game now so you can see his understanding of the tactics,' said the former Iceland and Jamaica manager. 'He is a player who can create and is quick. For me also, when Robbie is higher he can drop in and be the left back so that is really a good positive thing, their cooperation has been really good. 'He is a genuine good player but the best thing for me is that he can play more than one position. That helps us a lot in how we want to play. 'We want players to take action and then (for others) to fill up and react to that position. Him and Robbie have done a good job playing together.' As for fellow-Saints player Smallbone, he said: 'We haven't had a chance to work with Will a lot, so he was one we wanted to see in action. That is the purpose of giving players a chance. 'Everyone should come in with the thought 'I'm going to use this opportunity to my benefit and cement my name in the starting line-up or squad from now on.'

The 42
8 hours ago
- The 42
Eriksen scores winner against Northern Ireland, Netherlands open World Cup campaign win victory
WHILE ENGLAND'S BLUSHES were spared, Austria and the Netherlands made belated starts to their World Cup qualifying campaigns with victories on Saturday. The Dutch made their debut with a crisp 2-0 win over Finland in Helsinki. Memphis Depay scored after six minutes. Denzil Dumfries, one week after his unhappy experience playing for Inter Milan in the Champions League final, added the second after 23 minutes. Netherlands jumped to third in Group G, overtaking Lithuania and Malta who drew 0-0. The Dutch are one point behind Finland and three behind leaders Poland who did not play. Advertisement Marcel Sabitzer and Michael Gregoritsch scored as Austria beat Romania 2-1 in Vienna. Florin Tanase headed an added-time reply for the visitors who had squandered several chances in the closing stages. Bosnia-Herzegovina lead Group H on nine points after Edin Dzeko scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory home over San Marino. Romania, Cyprus and Austria all have three points. Harry Kane's 72nd international goal ensured England avoided the ultimate embarrassment of failing to beat Andorra. Even so, Thomas Tuchel's side were booed off in Barcelona after struggling to impress against a team ranked 173rd in the world. England pulled five points clear after three matches in Group K as second-placed Albania drew 0-0 at home with Serbia. Rey Manaj of Albania wasted a penalty in first-half added time. Serbia was one of three teams playing their first qualifying match Saturday after they had been involved in Nations League playoffs. Elsewhere, Northern Ireland suffered a friendly defeat in Copenhagen as Christian Eriksen got the winner in a 2-1 comeback victory for Denmark. An early own goal from former Tottenham midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg put Michael O'Neill's young side on top but Gustav Isaksen levelled in first-half stoppage time before Eriksen swept home the winner in the 67th minute. It was a second successive friendly defeat for Michael O'Neill's side, after March's 5-1 thrashing in Sweden, but was a much better defensive performance away to top-level opposition in their penultimate match before the World Cup qualifying campaign starts in Luxembourg in September. – © AFP 2025, Additional reporting from Press Association


Irish Daily Mirror
11 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Who is Kasey McAteer? Ireland star on upbringing and idolising Jamie Vardy
Kasey McAteer will never forget his magical moment last Friday, when he spun and drilled home his first ever goal in international football. The Leicester City winger is still only 23 years of age but he has already achieved a lot in the game, including a first Premier League goal and a breakthrough for Ireland. Reflecting on his time so far in the game, there have been plenty of pinch-me moments for the youngster who joined the Leicester City academy at the age of just eight. He was a regular at Foxes matches - and even took on the role of ball boy - as he watched Jamie Vardy score goal after goal during an incredible 13-season career at the club. 'It means everything, it's like a dream come true playing for this club,' he told the Leicester City website. 'It's all I've ever wanted to do since I was a kid. 'I remember I was 13, 14 watching Vards (Jamie Vardy) play and score goals in the Premier League and now I've sat opposite him in the dressing room. It's quite surreal when you think about it in that sense.' McAteer was just eight years old when he was snapped up by the Leicester City Academy. He is quick to pay tribute to his parents for their roles in his success. 'My mum and dad would make four or five trips a week when I was a boy, from the age of nine to when I was about 14,' he said. 'That was five years of their life they were sacrificing to bring me after work. 'They gave up a lot and, when I left home, it was a sad moment for me. My dad told me that he had a little cry. But they knew to look at the bigger picture and that it was about giving me the opportunity. 'I always say that my dad was my first ever coach and I would like to say me moving paid off. They (my parents) do tell me how proud they are and hopefully I can keep making them proud.' He was one of a number of academy players to graduate to the first-team. 'There's so many that have come through the Academy; myself, Luke [Thomas], Hamz [Hamza Choudhury], Kiernan [Dewsbury-Hall], who has obviously moved on, and Ben Chilwell,' he said. 'You can see that there is a pathway because, in recent years, the club has done really well in bringing young players through and long may that continue.' During his time at Leicester, he had loan spells at Forest Green Rovers (2021/22) and Wimbledon (2022/23). He scored his first Premier League goal in their win over Ipswich Town in May. McAteer was originally targeted by Stephen Kenny, but his paperwork didn't come through until after Heimir Hallgrímsson's appointment. With an Offaly grandmother and a Belfast grandfather, and with Kenny's fondness for skillful and speedy wingers, once his eligibility was known, efforts were made to bring him into the fold. His first call-up came for the Nations League games at home to England and Greece last September - Hallgrímsson's first games in charge. He made his debut off the bench against England and was capped three more times, before McAteer was handed his first start last Friday night in the 1-1 draw with Senegal. He opened the scoring and afterwards described his goal as 'a dream come true.' 'I'm over the moon, I think you can tell by my celebrations – it was like a dream come true,' he told RTE. 'It was my first night here at the Aviva – hopefully many more to come – but good to get myself on the scoresheet. 'Shame we couldn't hold on for the result to get the win, but Senegal are a really good team and we'll take it in our stride.' McAteer added: 'The main thing is to get this country to the World Cup and that's our aim. Every friendly game we need to build and hopefully we'll get ourselves there in the future.'