‘It's almost decided that I will not take part at the FIFA Club World Cup': Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo on Saturday ruled out the possibility of taking part in the upcoming Club World Cup with the 40-year-old saying that 'it's almost decided'. Last month, FIFA president Gianni Infantino had said that there were discussions on Ronaldo playing the Club World Cup. 'There are discussions with some clubs, so if any club is watching and is interested in hiring Ronaldo for the Club World Cup…who knows, who knows,' he had said.
But the Portuguese superstar, set to play Spain in the Nations League final on Sunday, appeared to put all speculations to rest.
'It's almost decided that I will not take part at the FIFA Club World Cup, despite receiving many invitations and proposals. There have been talks, contacts…but you have to think about short, medium and long-term,' Ronaldo said on Saturday in a press conference as per Goal.com
Last week, Ronaldo had hinted about his Al-Nassr exit after the team's defeat in the Saudi Premier League (SPL) 2024-25 season-ending match to Al-Fateh.
Despite notching up his record 800th club goal of his career, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner could not prevent a 2-3 loss for his side, ending hopes of their Asian Champions League Elite qualification. With 70 points, Al Nassr finished third on the SPL standings, 13 behind league winners Al-Ittihad and five behind second-placed Al-Hilal.
Ronaldo, who joined the Saudi side in 2022 after his second stint with Manchester United, has his contract with the club run out this summer. 'This chapter is over,' Ronaldo wrote on social media after the loss. 'The story? Still being written. Grateful to all,' the former Real Madrid and Juventus forward added.
Despite Al-Nassr's underwhelming finish, Ronaldo topped the Golden Boot race in the SPL with 24 goals, with his overall tally sitting at 99 goals in 111 appearances for the team.
But with reports of a new contract being offered to him by the Saudi club might have changed things.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
an hour ago
- Economic Times
Gianni Infantino and Donald Trump: Handshakes, warmth and a mutual interest
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel The heads of state who have felt the lash of US President Donald Trump's tongue in the Oval Office could do worse than seek advice from FIFA chief Gianni Infantino, who seems to have got their relationship down to a fine has shown a deft touch when it has come to dealing with hard-nosed leaders, from Russian President Vladimir Putin, when Russia hosted the 2018 World Cup, and now Trump with the United States set to co-host football's global showpiece next has been quite the opposite, showing no mercy to those who have dared challenge him -- he has laid into Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa in extraordinary scenes at the White with Infantino it is all smiles, compliments and Trump's traditional use of the words "great" and "greatest" when he likes something or was one of just a handful of prominent sports figures present at Trump's inauguration."Infantino handles Trump really well," Martin Sorrell, the founder of advertising giants WPP who is putting together a documentary for next year's World Cup, told pointed to when Infantino was filmed with Trump in March, showing off the trophy for the upcoming Club World Cup."Trump, who had the FIFA trophy behind him in the Oval Office on the video, said... 'as one president to another'," he appears to have placed his relationship with Trump front and centre -- perhaps unsurprising as the women's 2031 World Cup is also expected to be hosted in the US as well as the inaugural women's Club World Cup in there are signs that the relationship can grate with others as it did with UEFA representatives when Infantino arrived late at a FIFA Congress in Paraguay in May having been with Trump on the US president's visit to Qatar and then Saudi Arabia.- 'My great friend' -Nevertheless, whether some like it or not Infantino has restored relations with the US which reached its nadir under his predecessor Sepp the US lost out to Qatar for the right to host the 2022 World Cup, a FBI investigation resulted in 'Fifagate', leading to several of the governing body's senior figures going to jail and Blatter 2018, two years after Infantino was elected, the US were named co-hosts of the 2026 World Cup, earning him an invitation to the White years later the 'bromance' was strengthened when Trump asked Infantino to deliver the address at a dinner he hosted at the Economic Forum in Davos."America is on the verge of becoming a great soccer power," purred Infantino."The 'American dream' is something we all need to have. All those who love soccer."Trump responded by praising FIFA as a "steadfast movement" and Infantino as "my great friend."Infantino's loyalty -- a characteristic Trump values in others above all else -- has remained rock press conference-shy football boss has in his social media posts steered clear of commenting on the slights made by Trump regarding his World Cup co-hosts Mexico and keen is he to maintain smooth relations, he did not even step in to correct Trump, sitting behind him, when the US president said inviting Russia to the 2026 World Cup could facilitate them making peace with are barred from the qualifiers due to the 2022 invasion of both have so much invested in the World Cup being a success that nothing must blight the landscape."Gianni's obviously got a very close relationship with Trump and he's leveraging that because both sides have a mutual interest for 2026 to work," John Zerafa, an experienced sports communications strategist based in the UK, told AFP."Trump is a guy that's driven by headlines and being in the spotlight, and he's going to love being in the spotlight in the run-up to and during the World Cup, and he knows that it's got to go smoothly."So they've got a mutual interest for 2026 to work."
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Gianni Infantino and Donald Trump: Handshakes, warmth and a mutual interest
The heads of state who have felt the lash of US President Donald Trump's tongue in the Oval Office could do worse than seek advice from FIFA chief Gianni Infantino, who seems to have got their relationship down to a fine art. Infantino has shown a deft touch when it has come to dealing with hard-nosed leaders, from Russian President Vladimir Putin, when Russia hosted the 2018 World Cup, and now Trump with the United States set to co-host football's global showpiece next year. Trump has been quite the opposite, showing no mercy to those who have dared challenge him -- he has laid into Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa in extraordinary scenes at the White House. However, with Infantino it is all smiles, compliments and Trump's traditional use of the words "great" and "greatest" when he likes something or somebody. Infantino was one of just a handful of prominent sports figures present at Trump's inauguration. Live Events "Infantino handles Trump really well," Martin Sorrell, the founder of advertising giants WPP who is putting together a documentary for next year's World Cup, told AFP. Sorrell pointed to when Infantino was filmed with Trump in March, showing off the trophy for the upcoming Club World Cup. "Trump, who had the FIFA trophy behind him in the Oval Office on the video, said... 'as one president to another'," he noted. Infantino appears to have placed his relationship with Trump front and centre -- perhaps unsurprising as the women's 2031 World Cup is also expected to be hosted in the US as well as the inaugural women's Club World Cup in 2028. However, there are signs that the relationship can grate with others as it did with UEFA representatives when Infantino arrived late at a FIFA Congress in Paraguay in May having been with Trump on the US president's visit to Qatar and then Saudi Arabia. - 'My great friend' - Nevertheless, whether some like it or not Infantino has restored relations with the US which reached its nadir under his predecessor Sepp Blatter. After the US lost out to Qatar for the right to host the 2022 World Cup, a FBI investigation resulted in 'Fifagate', leading to several of the governing body's senior figures going to jail and Blatter resigning. In 2018, two years after Infantino was elected, the US were named co-hosts of the 2026 World Cup, earning him an invitation to the White House. Two years later the 'bromance' was strengthened when Trump asked Infantino to deliver the address at a dinner he hosted at the Economic Forum in Davos. "America is on the verge of becoming a great soccer power," purred Infantino. "The 'American dream' is something we all need to have. All those who love soccer." Trump responded by praising FIFA as a "steadfast movement" and Infantino as "my great friend." Infantino's loyalty -- a characteristic Trump values in others above all else -- has remained rock solid. The press conference-shy football boss has in his social media posts steered clear of commenting on the slights made by Trump regarding his World Cup co-hosts Mexico and Canada. So keen is he to maintain smooth relations, he did not even step in to correct Trump, sitting behind him, when the US president said inviting Russia to the 2026 World Cup could facilitate them making peace with Ukraine. Russia are barred from the qualifiers due to the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. However, both have so much invested in the World Cup being a success that nothing must blight the landscape. "Gianni's obviously got a very close relationship with Trump and he's leveraging that because both sides have a mutual interest for 2026 to work," John Zerafa, an experienced sports communications strategist based in the UK, told AFP. "Trump is a guy that's driven by headlines and being in the spotlight, and he's going to love being in the spotlight in the run-up to and during the World Cup, and he knows that it's got to go smoothly. "So they've got a mutual interest for 2026 to work."
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Germany vs France LIVE streaming info, UEFA Nations League third place match: Where to watch Mbappe play? Predicted lineups
Germany and France will face off in the third place match of the UEFA Nations League at the MHP Arena in Stuttgart on Sunday. Germany succumbed to a 1-2 loss against Portugal in the semifinals, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring a late winner. France, on the other hand, played out a nine-goal thriller against defending champion Spain. eventually losing 4-5. When and where will the UEFA Nations League third-place match between Germany and France kick-off? The UEFA Nations League third-place match between Germany and France will kick-off at 6:30 PM IST, June 8, Sunday at the MHP Arena in Stuttgart, Germany. How to watch the UEFA Nations League third-place match between Germany and France in India? On TV, viewers can watch the UEFA Nations League third place match between Germany and France on the Sony Sports Network. The match will also be live streamed on the Sony LIV app and website. PREDICTED XI Germany: Ter Stegen(GK); Tah, Koch, Anton; Kimmich, Gross, Goretzka, Gosens; Gnabry, Wirtz; Undav France: Maignan(GK); Pavard, Konate, L. Hernandez, Digne; Tchouameni, Kone; Dembele, Cherki, Barcola; Mbappe
