Given his connection to Saudi Arabia, where he was the face of the oil-rich kingdom’s spectacular drive to sign some of soccer’s biggest stars in recent years, rumours were making the rounds about a move away from Saudi.
Saudi Arabia or Gianni Infantino couldn’t engineer a way to get Cristiano Ronaldo to the Club World Cup. FIFA President Infantino certainly tried last month making a public appeal ahead of the tournament.
But at the end, not even Saudi Arabia or Gianni Infantino could engineer a way to get Cristiano Ronaldo to the Club World Cup.
“If any club is watching and is interested in hiring Ronaldo for the Club World Cup ” he teased
Ronaldo’s contract with Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr was due to expire and FIFA’s decision to create a specially-made mini transfer window for its newest competition meant the path was clear for the Real Madrid great to sign a short-term deal with a new team just in time to take part.
Given his connection to Saudi Arabia, where he was the face of the oil-rich kingdom’s spectacular drive to sign some of soccer’s biggest stars in recent years, rumors began to circulate about a move to Al Hilal the country’s most successful team and its sole representative at the Club World Cup.
The problem was that Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr are cross-city rivals in Riyadh. And even if Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund majority owns both teams along with others that was a step too far.
