Ronaldo rejects offers to play at Club World Cup
Multiple goals involved at the Club World Cup made attempts to sign Cristiano Ronaldo, but he will not be present at the tournament.
Cristiano Ronaldo will not play at the Club World Cup, having turned down offers from several participating teams following the expiration of his contract with Al-Nassr.
Ronaldo is free to join another club after reaching the end of the two-and-a-half-year contract he signed with the Saudi Pro League club midway through 2022-23.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner had been linked with Al-Nassr's domestic rivals Al-Hilal and Brazilian side Botafogo, both of whom will take part at FIFA's revamped 32-team tournament.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino recently suggested Ronaldo's next destination could be decided with the Club World Cup in mind, with world football's governing body opening the transfer window early for participating teams.
However, speaking at a press conference ahead of Sunday's Nations League final between Portugal and Spain, the former Real Madrid and Manchester United frontman refuted those claims.
"I will not be at the Club World Cup," Ronaldo told reporters.
"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, who sparked speculation around his future by saying "this chapter is over" in a social media post last month, added that a decision on his future was "almost final".
The forward won the previous iteration of the Club World Cup four times, with Manchester United in 2008 and three times with Madrid, in 2014, 2016 and 2017.
With seven goals in eight matches, Ronaldo is the most prolific player in the history of the Club World Cup, ahead of former Blancos team-mates Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema (six each).
Ronaldo won the Saudi Pro League Golden Boot for the second successive season with 25 goals in 2024-25, having netted 35 times in the previous campaign.
Since making his debut for Al-Nassr in January 2023, Ronaldo has scored more Saudi Pro League goals than any other player, with 74 in 77 matches.
That puts him 27 clear of his nearest competitor, with Aleksandar Mitrovic netting 47 times for Al-Hilal in that time.
Ronaldo's goals have come from a total expected goals (xG) tally of 67.07, averaging a goal every 90.62 minutes – the best ratio of any player in double figures in that span.