Not even Saudi Arabia’s vast riches or Gianni Infantino’s coaxing could engineer a Cristiano Ronaldo cameo at the Club World Cup. Still, the oil-rich kingdom’s ambition is stamped all over the tournament – and the game itself.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino made the pitch himself. In an interview with YouTuber iShowSpeed last month, he dangled a tantalizing prospect: “If any club is watching and is interested in hiring Ronaldo for the Club World Cup” The bait was clear. The path was open.
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 became the face of the kingdom’s high-profile push to sign some of football’s biggest stars in recent years, rumors swirled about a move to Al Hilal, the country’s most successful team and sole representative at the Club World Cup.
The problem: Al Hilal and Al-Nassr are cross-city rivals in Riyadh. And even if Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund holds a majority stake in both clubs, along with others, that was a step too far.
“As much as I respect Ronaldo as a huge player, as we all recognize he is, it’s certainly completely counterintuitive that you bring the biggest player of your biggest opponent to play with you,” Al Hilal Chief Executive Esteve Calzada told the BBC. “Even more when it’s only for three to four weeks.”
Maybe so, but Saudi Arabia, with its vast wealth, has made a habit of turning the improbable into the possible. And the very fact the prospect of a short-term move between clubs was even rumored points to the boundaries it has pushed in its effort to become a global sports force.
After all, it has already changed the face of golf and virtually cornered the market for big-time boxing. Formula One is a fixture, and top-tier tennis has been lured as well.
Its ambitions in football have been the most spectacular – securing the rights to host the 2034 World Cup, purchasing one of the Premier League’s iconic teams in Newcastle United, and attracting a stream of superstar players to a domestic league that lacks the stature of its European and South American counterparts.
Most recently, it played a role in funding the Club World Cup – directly or indirectly – through a reported $1 billion investment in tournament broadcaster DAZN and a commercial partnership with FIFA, which has offered a $1 billion prize pool for participating teams.
The Club World Cup is Saudi Arabia’s latest opportunity to make a statement on the international stage – its first chance to test an elite club against the global elite, beginning with 15-time European champion Real Madrid at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium on Wednesday.
That’s why it’s surprising there wasn’t a more aggressive push to furnish Al Hilal with another marquee signing, as Saudi clubs have done since Ronaldo’s move opened the floodgates in late 2022.
The four-time Asian champion even released Brazil great Neymar in January after an ACL injury limited him to just seven appearances following his $94 million move from Paris Saint-Germain in 2023.
A move was made for Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes just before the Club World Cup, but the Portugal midfielder declined. There was also reported interest in Victor Osimhen and Darwin Núñez, though no major deals were finalized before the team flew out to the United States.
“The club is working in order to improve the team, and I believe this will be done. Now it’s pointless to talk about market because the market is closed,” coach Simone Inzaghi said Tuesday.
Still, he has plenty of big-money imports to call upon, including Aleksandar Mitrović, João Cancelo, Kalidou Koulibaly and Rúben Neves.
But the biggest acquisition ahead of the tournament was Inzaghi himself, who left Italian giant Inter Milan earlier this month to become arguably the most high-profile coach to join the Saudi project.
“My ambition, the ambition of the club, is to try to grow more, to try to make Al Hilal become one of the best football clubs,” he said. “I believe the time has come to get out of my comfort zone.”
In a sense, Saudi Arabia is shaking football out of its comfort zone.
Madrid vs. Al Hilal could be viewed as a clash of football’s old money versus a seemingly unstoppable disrupter.
Madrid remains the game’s biggest powerhouse – its most successful and storied team. But the sport is witnessing an undeniable power shift, and Saudi Arabia is a coming force.
“Sometimes we just focus on what’s going on in Europe, and we think there’s nothing else beyond Europe. We’re too focused on Europe,” Madrid coach Xabi Alonso said.
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