Cristiano Ronaldo’s future is unclear. Could he join one of the teams at the Club World Cup?

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Cristiano Ronaldo’s future at Al Nassr is up in the air after a disappointing season, and his contract is set to expire at the end of next month.

The 40-year-old also posted a cryptic message on his social media earlier this week, writing: “This chapter is over. The story? Still being written.”

With Al Nassr not involved in the tournament, there have long been suggestions that Ronaldo could compete at FIFA’s inaugural expanded Club World Cup, which takes place in the United States this summer. And the body’s president Gianni Infantino added fuel to the fire during an interview with YouTuber IShowSpeed last weekend.

Discussing Lionel Messi competing in the event with his MLS club Inter Miami, Infantino then added: “And Ronaldo might play for one of the teams as well at 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.”

A special transfer window opens for teams competing in the Club World Cup between June 1 and June 10, with sides able to add players before its opening game on June 14.

So, could a team move to sign Ronaldo between now and then? Are any of them interested? Is there a chance he could face eternal rival Messi, surely for the final time in their careers, at this tournament?

The Athletic’s team of reporters approached figures at clubs competing at the Club World Cup to ask whether they would be interested in a move for Ronaldo. Unless otherwise noted, those people spoke under the condition of anonymity to protect relationships.

Their responses are below.

Chelsea

Chelsea turned down the opportunity to sign Ronaldo in 2022, and are not going to change their minds three years later.

The London club have already compiled a list of players they want to play up front for them in the future, including Hugo Ekitike, Liam Delap — who Chelsea have reached a transfer agreement for — and Benjamin Sesko. Like most of the Chelsea squad, these are players all under the age of 25 and have the best of their careers still to come. Their wage demands also fit into the general structure in place at Stamford Bridge.

Ronaldo, while respected for all his achievements, simply does not fit into the club’s recruitment strategy.

Simon Johnson

Chelsea have reached a transfer agreement for Delap (Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images)

Juventus

No chance.

Juventus are still in arbitration with Ronaldo over an agreement that was made to defer some of his wages while he was with the Turin club during the Covid-19 pandemic. Last year, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) ordered Juventus to pay more than €9.7million ($10.35m, £8.3m), plus interest, to Ronaldo in back wages.

James Horncastle

Al Ahly

As exciting as it could be, a Messi vs Ronaldo clash in the opening match of the 2025 Club World Cup is unlikely to happen.

Ronaldo joining Al Ahly, the Egyptian side who kick the tournament off against Messi’s Inter Miami in that Florida city in two weeks’ time, is a transfer that’s only possible in video games. Financially, the move just isn’t logical due to his salary requirements.

Ahmed Walid

Mamelodi Sundowns

Mamelodi Sundowns are South Africa’s richest team, backed by one of the country’s wealthiest men, Patrice Motsepe, who has been in charge since 2003. Since Motsepe became president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in 2021, his son, Thlopie, has taken over as club chairman, running Sundowns on a day-to-day basis.

Thlopie confirmed last week that they are considering using the forthcoming transfer window but any new faces are only likely to arrive once their involvement in the Club World Cup is over. That responsibility will fall on Flemming Berg, the club’s Danish sporting director, and his assistant, Ryan Hunt.

Simon Hughes

Palmeiras

Palmeiras have not made any move, nor do they plan to do so, to sign Ronaldo. That has been the club’s position since mid-May, when the first rumours surfaced that a team from Brazil was interested in the Portuguese forward. They also added they did not envision any Brazilian club being able to afford such a move.

The doubts about whether Ronaldo will stay in Saudi Arabia or not, with his current contract about to expire, have not changed the scenario at the Sao Paulo club.

Their attacking options will be young Estevao, a right-winger who will join Chelsea after this tournament; the Argentine Jose Manuel Lopez; or Vitor Roque, who failed to meet expectations at Spanish sides Barcelona and Real Betis over the past two seasons and did not score in his first nine games with Palmeiras after joining in February.

Mario Cortegana

Palmeiras will have Estevao to call on at the Club World Cup (Miguel Schincariol/Getty Images)

Fluminense

Even as their  Brazilian rivals have made a habit of making splashy signings from European football over the past decade, Fluminense have generally been more circumspect. This is in large part due to their financial situation: compared to the country’s big hitters — Palmeiras, Flamengo, Corinthians — they have a pretty modest budget and prefer to cut their cloth accordingly.

It was no surprise, then, that a source at the club immediately rejected the idea that Rio de Janeiro-based Fluminense could offer Ronaldo a new challenge.

Jack Lang

Botafogo

Another Brazilian side who have no interest in, and have had no discussions over, signing Ronaldo.

Although the club’s owner, John Textor, attended Al Nassr training sessions due to his relationship with their chief executive Majed AlJamaan, any suggestion that he might join the Rio side or that he would be involved in the Eagle Football multi-club vehicle where Textor is chairman have been described to The Athletic as “a bizarre fantasy story”.

Matt Woosnam

Flamengo

Flamengo have also ruled out a move for Ronaldo ahead of the Club World Cup, mainly for financial reasons. Jorginho’s arrival from Arsenal is their latest planned move for the tournament.

Jose Boto, Flamengo’s sporting director, is Portuguese and has very good contacts in his home country, which could potentially facilitate the deal at some point. However, it is not something Rio-based Flamengo have seriously considered.

Mario Cortegana

Inter

Inter’s American ownership, the asset management firm Oaktree, has provided stability and financial security for this weekend’s Champions League finalists. They are also committed to rejuvenating a squad that is the oldest in this season’s Champions League.

“Investments will be made in slightly younger profiles who represent a real asset, players with potential who are an asset for the present and the future,” Inter’s CEO Giuseppe Marotta explained to The Athletic this week. That doesn’t sound like Ronaldo, who turned 40 in February.

Marotta was at Juventus when Ronaldo joined them in 2018, but that was a signing driven by colleague Fabio Paratici. Marotta left the club a few months later, and Inter have since replaced Juventus as the real force in Italian football.

The prospect of Marotta signing Ronaldo for Inter — regardless of the new ownership’s strategy for the Milanese club — is unlikely.

James Horncastle

Manchester City

Ronaldo and City manager Pep Guardiola nearly joined forces in 2021 before he decided to return to neighbours United from Juventus at the eleventh hour. A deal was broadly agreed then, but long phone conversations with former United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and ex-Old Trafford team-mate Rio Ferdinand convinced Ronaldo how ruinous switching to the other side of Manchester would be for his legacy.

At the time, City were also looking at Harry Kane to fill the centre-forward void left by the departure during the same window of Sergio Aguero. There is no such vacancy now that they have Erling Haaland, who has committed himself to the club for the next decade. City also added Omar Marmoush to their attacking ranks in January and are attempting to bring down the average age of the squad.

Ronaldo is into his fifth decade, his powers are understandably waning, and he is unlikely to be able to play on one of the wings anymore. That said, the way Guardiola has incorporated Haaland into his team by allowing him not to get involved in any build-up play is a dilution of his football idealism that was not known four years ago.

It would have been fun to see Guardiola work with Ronaldo, having played such an important role in Messi’s first few years at Barcelona, but the chances of it happening are virtually zero.

Jordan Campbell

Real Madrid

Since his departure from Madrid to join Juventus, Ronaldo has explored the possibility of moving back to the Bernabeu on several occasions. The last opportunity was two years ago, when he was on his way out of United.

According to senior sources at Madrid, his agent at the time, Jorge Mendes, offered him to them several times during the summer of 2023, with very advantageous financial conditions.

The club’s stance has always been clear in these situations, as it was during this season when the possibility of Sergio Ramos returning also came up: they have total gratitude for both players’ time at the club, but they believe it should be left in the past.

Madrid are committed to their project, which is now focused on new blood, without focusing on the economic elements.

Mario Cortegana and Guillermo Rai

Ronaldo has explored a return to Real Madrid several times since he left (Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images)

Bayern Munich

There is zero chance. Bayern’s forward line will be led by Kane this summer in the States, and Ronaldo would offer nothing beyond unhelpful media attention.

The German champions are paying no attention to his availability at all.

Sebastian Stafford-Bloor

Paris Saint-Germain

The French club have not made any moves in terms of Ronaldo, and has no plans to do so. Their total focus is on the Champions League final showdown with Inter on Saturday night, which also shows why bringing him in is not among their plans.

Their overall project as a club has pivoted since manager Luis Enrique’s 2024 arrival to build a team based on their Spanish coach and young talent, moving away from the collection of the world’s most famous stars previously in the line-up.

The success of this season reinforces this idea and has led to renewing the contracts in recent months of the aforementioned Luis Enrique and sporting director Luis Campos, who is always in close contact with club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi.

Mario Cortegana

Borussia Dortmund

In Serhou Guirassy, Dortmund believe they have one of the in-form forwards in European football and they will head to the U.S. fully confident in their ability to score plenty of goals in this tournament.

There’s no conversation to be had about signing Ronaldo.

Sebastian Stafford-Bloor

Atletico Madrid

Ronaldo will not be joining Atletico for the Club World Cup.

The Spanish club are taking the tournament very seriously, and coach Diego Simeone’s team will be playing their usual high-intensity, hard-working style, and have top internationals such as Julian Alvarez, Alexander Sorloth and Antoine Griezmann to lead their attack.

Adding the 40-year-old former Madrid player for their U.S. challenge would just not make sense.

Dermot Corrigan

Porto

Porto have no interest in signing Ronaldo, who came through the academy at one of their great domestic rivals, Lisbon’s Sporting CP.

They are, however, focusing their efforts on another (far younger) forward from the Saudi Pro League: Gabri Veiga. The 23-year-old made a surprise move from Celta Vigo to Al Ahli two years ago and is a key target for them this summer.

James Horncastle

Ronaldo, right, came through the academy at Sporting CP (Yuri Kadobnov/AFP via Getty Images)

Benfica

Ronaldo supported Benfica as a young boy, but it would be a colossal surprise if they were to approach him now.

He came through the youth ranks at their local Lisbon rivals, Sporting, and it would need a huge amount of PR massaging to make a cross-city move look like anything other than a betrayal, even at this late stage of his career. He also once stuck a middle finger up at Benfica fans while playing for United, so the appetite from their supporters for his signing might also be limited.

Jack Lang

Monterrey

In recent seasons, the Mexicans have been known for signing La Liga stars such as Sergio Canales and especially Sergio Ramos.

For that reason, it might seem logical that they would be looking to do the same with Ronaldo. However, very senior sources at Monterrey played down this option ahead of the Club World Cup: “We haven’t moved on anything at all. But there is so much noise that, if he wants to come and he comes for free, then we will think about it.”

Guillermo Rai

Staying at Al Nassr

A source close to Ronaldo told The Athletic last week that it would not make sense for Al Nassr to renew his contract and then move him out on loan to a team playing in the Club World Cup.

That said, a renewal is not out of the question. However, a source at the Riyadh club suggested it depended in part on the outcome of their season — and this came to a negative end, with Al Nassr finishing third in the Saudi Pro League, having lost in the Asian Champions League’s semi-finals.

Guillermo Rai

(Top photo: Abdullah Ahmed/Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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