Ronaldo: Considering the short-term, medium-term and long-term plans, I have basically decided not to participate in this year s Club World Cup

[Global Times Special Correspondent Li Jiayin] Portugal national team captain Cristiano Ronaldo (as shown in the picture) said at a pre-match press conference for the UEFA Nations League final on the 7th that although many clubs in the World Cup have sent olive branches to him, he still does not intend to participate in the new version of the World Cup to be held in the United States. In May this year, Riyadh, who played for Ronaldo, won the AFC Champions League victory, and the team missed the qualification for the Club World Cup. FIFA President Infantino once proposed that Ronaldo may join a team participating in the Club World Cup. Al Jazeera said on the 7th that Ronaldo's decision has frustrated Infantino's vision of more top football players appearing in the Club World Cup.

The 2025 Club World Cup is reorganized into 32 participating teams, and the competition will be held in the United States from June 15 to July 14. At the press conference before the UEFA Nations League final, Ronaldo said in response to whether to join the Club World Cup to participate: "This (Club World Cup) is irrelevant. At present, it doesn't make sense to me to talk about other things except for the national team. There are many clubs I have joined, some of which are reasonable, and some are not. No one can take into account everything. I have to consider short-term, medium-term and long-term plans. I have basically decided not to participate in the Club World Cup."

The BBC said that in May this year, Ronaldo finished his last league game of the season in Riyadh. He said on social platforms that "this chapter is over", which triggered speculation from the outside world about his upcoming transfer. However, a source told the BBC that Riyadh victory is confident of renewing his contract with Ronaldo. Reuters said Riyadh Victory Sports Director Fernando Jero revealed last month that they were negotiating with Ronaldo on a contract extension.

40-year-old Ronaldo scored the winning goal in the previous European League A-level semi-finals, helping Portugal defeat Germany 2:1. The Portuguese team met Spain in the final, and the showdown between Ronaldo and Yamal also became the highlight. But this Portuguese football legend tried to "reduce popularity" on this topic. Ronaldo said: "Whenever I participate in an important game, I will always be compared with other players. More than 20 years have passed, and this situation has not changed, and I don't care about such topics. We are a completely different era. Yamal has just emerged, and my era is about to end. Football matches are a confrontation between teams, and it will always be like this. What I hope most is that the Portuguese team is in a good state and can play a wonderful game."