Five clubs that could sign Cristiano Ronaldo on a short-term deal for the Club World Cup

Cristiano Ronaldo has posted a cryptic message on social media suggesting that his time with Al-Nassr could be over.

The 40-year-old has been locked into contract talks with the Saudi Arabian side for the past few months, but after going trophyless in 2024-25, it now seems likely that he’ll be moving on.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has hinted that Ronaldo could still play at the Club World Cup this summer, with one of the qualified sides signing him on a short-term deal.

“Ronaldo might play for one of the teams as well at the Club World Cup,” Infantino said during an interview with IShowSpeed.

“There are discussions with some clubs, so if any club is watching and is interested in hiring Ronaldo for the Club World Cup… who knows, who knows.”

A 10-day transfer window will open at the start of June, which will allow clubs to sign players ahead of the Club World Cup this summer.

Based on the current rumours around Ronaldo, we’ve assessed the five club that could sign him on a short-term deal.

Real Madrid

This one is a long shot, but it would be a romantic story to see Ronaldo in a Real Madrid shirt for one last time.

After missing out on all the major trophies in 2024-25, Madrid will be desperate to salvage their season by winning the Club World Cup.

The thought of Ronaldo lining up alongside Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior this summer is an exciting one.

While this move seems unlikely, it’s worth mentioning that Ronaldo does have a good relationship with incoming manager Xabi Alonso.

“Cristiano made everything very easy,” Alonso said when discussing his time playing with Ronaldo. “I take the ball, I find it and he did his individual actions to score.”

Chelsea

It’s been well-documented that Todd Boehly has been interested in signing Ronaldo previously. Indeed, Chelsea were heavily linked with the Portuguese superstar prior to his move to Al-Nassr back in 2023.

While Enzo Maresca’s side probably wouldn’t be interested in a long-term deal, a short-term contract offer for the Club World Cup could suit all parties involved.

Links to Chelsea have resurfaced in recent weeks, although former Chelsea winger Florent Malouda thinks that CR7 would struggle to integrate into their squad.

“I remember when the owners took over, they were assessing the possibility of signing him,” Malouda told Racing Tipster.

“It would be more like a marketing and media coup than anything, really, in terms of sports logic.”

Al-Hilal

Ronaldo hasn’t won any major trophies while playing for Al-Nassr and that’s largely thanks to Al-Hilal.

It would be a controversial move for Ronaldo to sign for Al-Nassr’s rivals, but it seems like a very real possibility.

The sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia owns a majority share in both clubs, so moving between them shouldn’t pose too much of an issue. Albeit he’d annoy a lot of Al-Nassr supporters in the process.

With Neymar no longer on their wage bill, Al-Hilal could definitely be tempted to take a short-term punt on CR7.

Botafogo

According to reports in Spain, an unnamed Brazilian club has recently made an offer to Ronaldo.

Botafogo are one of the four Brazilian teams that have qualified for the Club World Cup this summer and their head coach, Renato Paiva, recently spoke about the prospect of signing Ronaldo.

“Christmas is only in December. But if he came, you can’t say no to a star like that,” he said.

“I don’t know anything – I’m just answering the question. But, as I said, coaches always want the best. Ronaldo, even at his age, is still a goal-scoring machine. In a team that creates chance after chance, he would be good.”

Inter Miami

What better way to see the Ronaldo and Lionel Messi era come to an end than to see them both on the same team for the first time?

Messi will definitely be at the Club World Cup this summer, but could he be joined by his Portuguese nemesis?

Javier Mascherano’s side look like they could use some reinforcements right now, having only won one of their last eight matches.

Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham has also spoken about signing Ronaldo in the past. Watch this space.

READ NEXT: The eight highest-paid footballers in the world according to Forbes: Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappe…

TRY A QUIZ: The Ultimate Cristiano Ronaldo Quiz: 30 tricky questions on the Real Madrid & Man Utd icon