The FIFA Club World Cup 2025 is about to kick off, and one of the most notable absences will be Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr.
This Saturday, Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami will open the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 by facing Egypt’s Al Ahly in the first Group A match at Hard Rock Stadium. There’s significant global anticipation surrounding the tournament, thanks to the abundance of star players and top-tier clubs competing. However, Cristiano Ronaldo and Al Nassr will not be among them.
The qualification system established by FIFA for this first expanded edition of the Club World Cup allows four clubs to represent Asian soccer. Based on this, it was decided that the qualified teams would include the champions of the last three editions of the continental tournament, the AFC Champions League Elite, along with the highest-ranked Asian team outside those title winners.
Al Nassr did not meet any of these criteria and therefore missed their chance to take part in this year’s tournament. The teams that did qualify were Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia (continental champions in 2021), Urawa Red Diamonds of Japan (champions in 2022-23), Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates (champions in 2023-24), and Ulsan HD of South Korea, who qualified based on their ranking.
Since arriving in Saudi Arabia, Cristiano Ronaldo has competed in two editions of the AFC Champions League. The first was in 2023-24, when Al Nassr advanced past the group stage as one of the best second-place finishers, then eliminated Al Fayha before falling in the quarterfinals in a penalty shootout against Al Ain, who went on to win the title.
CR7’s most recent appearance in the continental tournament was this year, when Al Nassr reached the semifinals but were eliminated by Kawasaki Frontale. In any case, this edition counted only toward qualification for the next Club World Cup, so even winning the title would not have allowed the Portuguese forward to play this summer in the United States.
Could Ronaldo have played in the Club World Cup?
Although Al Nassr were eliminated from contention for this edition of the Club World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo still could have appeared in the tournament. That’s because FIFA applied flexible rules regarding player transfers, allowing participating teams to register players who weren’t part of their rosters during the 2024-25 season.
Under that scenario, CR7 could have accepted an offer from one of the qualified clubs and joined the tournament at the last minute—an idea that FIFA president Gianni Infantino himself recently hinted at. In fact, rumors surfaced about potential interest from clubs such as Botafogo of Brazil, River Plate of Argentina, and Monterrey of Mexico. But the Portuguese forward turned down those opportunities.
What other stars will miss the Club World Cup?
Along with Cristiano Ronaldo, other top-tier players will miss the Club World Cup. The clearest example is Lamine Yamal, as Barcelona failed to qualify for the tournament due to poor performances in previous European seasons. The same applies to Liverpool, the reigning Premier League champions, meaning Mohamed Salah won’t be participating either.
From: bolavip.com
