Al Hilal Boss Shatters Rumors: The Truth About Ronaldo's Club World Cup Connection Revealed
Al Hilal's chief executive Esteve Calzada has firmly denied rumors suggesting they were planning to sign Cristiano Ronaldo for participation in this summer's Club World Cup.
Ronaldo currently plays for Al Nassr, which failed to qualify for the tournament that will feature his longtime rival Lionel Messi and Inter Miami. Speculation was rampant that Ronaldo, whose contract ends this summer, might temporarily join another team specifically to participate in the Club World Cup before making decisions about his long-term future later in the summer.
One of the suggested possibilities was a temporary or permanent transfer to Al Hilal. Both Al Nassr and the Saudi champions are under the ownership of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), leading to speculation that the organization might transfer Ronaldo to their only Club World Cup representative to increase visibility for both the tournament and Saudi football generally.
However, Ronaldo eventually announced he would not participate in this summer's tournament, and Calzada has now clarified that a move to Al Hilal was never considered a possibility for the Portuguese star.
"We typically avoid commenting on player situations, particularly because our club's name is frequently mentioned when a player or agent is negotiating better terms with their current club or seeking a move," he explained to BBC Sport.
"This has been an unusual transfer window with very limited time. You don't want to make decisions focused on this tournament that you'll have to maintain for the next two or three years.
"Despite my enormous respect for Ronaldo as the exceptional player we all acknowledge him to be, it's completely illogical to recruit the star player from your biggest competitor to join your team. This is especially true when it's only for a period of three to four weeks.
"We've been exploring options to strengthen our squad. However, some players were already mentally on vacation, others were demanding excessive compensation, and we recognize that our team is already highly competitive.
"After the tournament concludes, we'll enter the regular transfer window still maintaining our highest ambitions to potentially strengthen the team further."
While Al Hilal didn't pursue Ronaldo, the Al Nassr forward did receive an opportunity to participate in the Club World Cup. Moroccan team Wydad Casablanca made a bold approach but discovered that Ronaldo was comfortable with missing the competition.