Ronaldo hints at Al Nassr departure amid Club World Cup transfer rumours
Cristiano Ronaldo hinted that he has reached the end of his Al Nassr career, days after Gianni Infantino claimed he could make a shock transfer move ahead of the Club World Cup.
The Portugal international signed to the Saudi club in 2023, bringing a controversial end to his second spell at Old Trafford, scoring 99 goals in 111 appearances but lifting just one trophy, the 2023 Arab Club Champions Cup.
Al Nassr were beaten 3-2 by Al Fateh on Monday as they finished third in the Saudi Pro League. He has now hinted that his career in Riyadh is coming to a close, though, as the 40-year-old posted a cryptic message across his social media accounts after the match.
He wrote: 'This chapter is over. The story? Still being written. Grateful to all.'
Earlier this week, FIFA president Infantino had said Ronaldo was in talks for a transfer ahead of this summer's Club World Cup, which kicks off in Miami on June 15.
'Ronaldo might play for one of the teams as well at the Club World Cup,' he said. 'There are discussions.
'Cristiano Ronaldo might play in the Club World Cup, yeah.'
Ronaldo's Al Nassr contract expires in June. Should he decide against extending his stay in Saudi Arabia, he would not be short of options.
Spanish outlet Diario AS have reported that he has been approached by Mexican side C.F. Monterrey, who currently sit seventh in Liga MX and have been drawn alongside Inter Milan, River Plate, and Urawa Reds in the Club World Cup group stage. Should he make the switch, he would be reunited with his long-time Real Madrid teammate Sergio Ramos.
Several other participating sides are also reportedly interested in a short-term deal, including Al Nassr's Saudi Pro League rivals, Al Ahly.
All 20 FIFA confederations represented at the tournament have approved an extraordinary transfer window from June 1-10 to allow teams to strengthen ahead of the Club World Cup. The Premier League will be represented at the tournament by Chelsea and Manchester City.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
2025 Club World Cup odds: Real Madrid (+400) is slight favorite to win the 32-team tournament
The one-of-a-kind 2025 Club World Cup begins Saturday with 32 of the best professional soccer club teams in the world vying for the title. The teams are split up into eight qualifying groups and the final will take place on July 13 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The full schedule and group breakdowns is available here, along with how every team qualified for the tournament. Advertisement Spanish club Real Madrid (+400) is the favorite at BetMGM and has the overwhelming amount of total wagers (26.2%) and total dollars wagered (81.1%) to win the tournament. Real Madrid is the biggest liability at the sportsbook. Paris Saint-Germain (+450), fresh off the club's first Champions League title, has the second-best odds. PSG also has the second-most wagers (10.5%) and second-biggest handle among all teams (5.1%). PSG also has seen a significant line shift since opening at 12-1 to win the tournament. Manchester City (+550) and Bayern Munich (+650) are the two other teams with odds better than 10-1. New Zealand club Auckland City FC has the longest odds at 1,000-1.
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
‘It's so painful': Man City's Guardiola speaks up on Israel's war on Gaza
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says the images of children being killed during Israel's war on Gaza are 'painful' and have left him 'deeply troubled'. The Spanish manager of the English Premier League club urged the world to speak up instead of choosing to stay silent 'in the face of injustice' as he addressed an audience after receiving an honorary degree at the University of Manchester on Monday. 'It's so painful what we see in Gaza. It hurts all my body,' Guardiola said. 'Maybe we think that when we see four-year-old boys and girls being killed by bombs or being killed at a hospital, which is not a hospital any more, it's not our business. Yeah, fine, it's not our business. But be careful – the next four- or five-year-old kids will be ours.' Mentioning his three children – Maria, Marius and Valentina – Guardiola said that every morning 'since the nightmare started' in Gaza, whenever he sees his two daughters and son he is reminded of the children in Gaza, which leaves him feeling 'so scared'. About half of Gaza's 2.3 million residents are children. Since October 7, 2023, Israel has killed at least 17,400 children, including 15,600 who have been identified, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza. Many more remain buried under the rubble and are presumed dead. Many of the surviving children have endured the trauma of multiple wars, and all of them have spent their lives under an oppressive Israeli blockade. Over the past 20 months, Israeli attacks have left their homes in ruins, destroyed their schools, and overwhelmed their healthcare facilities. During his emotional speech, which has been widely shared on social media, Guardiola said the world remains silent in the face of injustice. 'We feel safer [staying silent] than speaking up,' he added. 'Maybe this image feels far away from where we are living now, and you might ask what we can do,' he added. He then went on to narrate the story of a bird trying to put out a fire in a forest by repeatedly carrying water in its beak. 'In a world that often tells us we are too small to make a difference, that story reminds me the power of one is not about the scale – it's about choice, about showing up, about refusing to be silent or still when it matters the most.' The former Barcelona coach and player said the images out of Palestine, Sudan and Ukraine left him 'deeply troubled'. Guardiola, who has formerly voiced his support for the independence of his native Catalonia, lashed out at world leaders for their inability to stop the wars. 'We see the horrors of thousands and thousands of innocent children, mothers and fathers. 'Entire families suffering, starving and being killed and yet we are surrounded by leaderships in many fields, not just politicians, who don't consider the inequality and injustice.' An independent United Nations commission report released on Tuesday accused Israel of committing the crime against humanity of 'extermination' by attacking Palestinian civilians sheltering in schools and religious sites in Gaza. 'While the destruction of cultural property, including educational facilities, was not in itself a genocidal act, evidence of such conduct may nevertheless infer genocidal intent to destroy a protected group,' the report said. While the report focused on the impact on Gaza, the commission also reported significant consequences for the Palestinian education system in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem as a result of ramped-up Israeli military activity, harassment of students and settler attacks. 'Children in Gaza have lost their childhood. With no education available, they are forced to worry about survival amid attacks, uncertainty, starvation and subhuman living conditions,' the report added. 'What is particularly disturbing is the widespread nature of the targeting of educational facilities, which has extended well beyond Gaza, impacting all Palestinian children.'
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Canelo Álvarez to face Terence Crawford in Netflix-streamed Las Vegas megafight
Boxing's most eagerly anticipated fight in years, the long-rumored showdown between Canelo Álvarez and Terence Crawford, will take place on 13 September in Las Vegas and stream globally on Netflix, organizers confirmed on Tuesday. The summit meeting will match two of the most accomplished pound-for-pound fighters of the past decade in a cross-divisional clash with generational implications. Álvarez, the undisputed super middleweight champion who's held titles between 154lb and 175lb, will defend his crown against Crawford, the unbeaten four-weight titleholder from 135lb through 154lb moving up two weight classes to challenge the Mexican superstar in what has already been billed as the 'fight of the century'. Advertisement The venue has yet to be finalized, though Allegiant Stadium, the 71,835-seat home of the NFL's Las Vegas Raiders, is understood to be the top choice. The date currently conflicts with a scheduled UNLV football game against Idaho State, but sources familiar with discussions say talks are under way to move the college game to a different site or reschedule it entirely. T-Mobile Arena, where Álvarez headlined some of his biggest nights and where Crawford blew out Errol Spence Jr in a welterweight title unification bout in 2023, remains a fallback option. The bout will be promoted by Saudi Arabia's Riyadh Season in collaboration with Ultimate Fighting Championship president and Donald Trump confidant Dana White and the Saudi entertainment company Sela. It marks White's first foray into boxing and signals a further deepening of the Kingdom's influence over the sport's biggest nights. 'On 13 September, Canelo and Crawford, two legends of boxing, will finally compete against each other in the fight of the century,' said Turki al-Sheikh, chairman of the General Entertainment Authority and president of the Saudi Boxing Federation. 'Alongside Dana White and Sela, we will deliver something truly incredible in Las Vegas for fans around the world to enjoy through Netflix.' Crawford, 41-0 with 31 knockouts, has already become the first male fighter to claim undisputed championships in two weight classes in the four-belt era, doing so at 140lb and 147lb. In his last outing in August, the Omaha, Nebraska, native defeated Israil Madrimov to capture the WBA junior middleweight title, making Tuesday's confirmation all the more remarkable: he will now jump directly to 168lbs to face Álvarez without a tune-up. Advertisement 'My perfect record speaks for itself,' Crawford said. 'I am the best fighter in the world and no matter the opponent or weight class, I have always come out on top. On September 13, my hand will be raised once again as the world watches greatness.' Álvarez, 62-2-2 with 39 knockouts, is coming off a dominant yet pedestrian unanimous decision over William Scull in May, a fight staged in Riyadh as part of his reported $400m four-fight deal with the Saudi-backed Riyadh Season. That agreement allowed for one bout to be staged outside the Kingdom, and Álvarez has opted to return to Las Vegas, where his fanbase traditionally turns out in droves. 'I'm super happy to be making history again and this time on a Riyadh Season card that will be broadcast on Netflix,' said Álvarez, who has won six straight since a surprise defeat in a doomed challenge for Dmitry Bivol's light heavyweight title in 2022. 'On September 13, I'm ready to show once again that I am the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.' Both men attended the Scull fight, where the bout was publicly teased in the ring. Despite questions over their respective ages – Álvarez turns 35 next month, Crawford will be 38 in September – each remains among the sport's elite talents and a longtime fixture on pound-for-pound lists. Advertisement The announcement represents a potentially transformative moment for boxing's broadcast future. Rather than being offered via traditional pay-per-view, the event will stream to Netflix's 300m subscribers at no additional cost, echoing the kind of mass accessibility the sport once enjoyed in its network television heyday. Executives are hoping it becomes a landmark moment akin to the Mike Tyson–Jake Paul spectacle Netflix carried in November, which preceded the streamer's record-smashing broadcast of the NFL's Christmas Day twin bill and Beyoncé Bowl half-time show. For fans long frustrated by the fragmentation and paywalling of boxing's top events, the move could mark a new chapter in accessibility. 'Turki wants to make the biggest fights that the fans want to see in boxing, and this is right up my alley,' said White, who is launching his own TKO boxing imprint under the UFC's Endeavor umbrella. 'Are you kidding me that the first boxing fight I'm going to get to promote is Canelo v Crawford? It's literally a once-in-a-lifetime fight.' A three-city press tour has been planned for later this month to drum up interest in an event that's certain to attract broad public attention. The fighters will meet in Riyadh on 20 June, then travel to New York on 22 June before wrapping up in Las Vegas on 27 June. While both fighters have shown flashes of mortality in recent performances – Álvarez cruised but looked flat in his decision win over Scull, while Crawford had to rally late to edge Madrimov – the significance of their matchup remains undiminished. A win for Álvarez would further cement his legacy as the face of this boxing era. A victory for Crawford would put him in rarefied historical company, while arguably establishing him as the most versatile boxer of the modern era. The dream matchup has drawn comparisons to the 1987 superfight between Sugar Ray Leonard and Marvin Hagler, when Leonard emerged from a three-year retirement to outpoint the fearsome middleweight champion in a tightly contested split decision at Caesars Palace. Like Leonard, Crawford is the smaller, faster fighter taking a calculated risk against a dominant champion in a higher weight class – and, like that fabled night in Las Vegas, the outcome could reshape pound-for-pound conversations for years to come.
