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June 10, 2025
With Ronaldo's season official over after his participation in the UEFA Nations League, it's now time to decide his future. Will he stay in Al Nassr despite his mysterious tweet? Or will he try a new a challenge elsewhere?
Cristiano Ronaldo’s future has been a hotly debated topic in recent months with the global superstar and prolific goal-scoring veteran reportedly considering his next move ahead of a potential transfer. At present, it looks as though Ronaldo will be a high-profile absentee at FIFA’s expanded and glitzy FIFA Club World Cup in June and July, though a switch to one of the clubs competing stateside this summer isn’t yet out of the question. The Portuguese icon, who turned 40 in February, remains a top-level performer despite his advancing years and if Ronaldo does decide to end his association with Al-Nassr this summer, a lengthy list of suitors will be prepared to skirmish for his signature.
Cristiano Ronaldo - Helping Portugal beating Germany
In the sports betting and bookmaker realms, Cristiano Ronaldo’s future is big business and money has been moving steadily on the attacker’s “next club” markets and transfer specials on betting platforms.
Odds have been dynamic and shifting with every piece of breaking news, though a few clubs have emerged as possible frontrunners for Ronaldo in relevant markets on sports betting apps.
::: Any English club – 8/1
Starting with one of the bigger prices, Cristiano Ronaldo’s odds of moving to a club in England’s Premier League have been priced at 8/1.
Ronaldo famously left Manchester United in acrimonious circumstances in November 2022 having been pushed to the periphery of the first team by former head coach, Erik ten Hag.
The forward had been a bit-part player in his final months at Old Trafford before an explosive interview with Piers Morgan led to a bitter parting between club and player.
Though he would never admit it, Ronaldo did seem to struggle with the chaotic pace of England’s Premier League in his final days in the division, so a return to the competition at the age of 40 would make little sense.
::: Sporting Lisbon – 4/1
An emotional homecoming to the club where it all started for Ronaldo would be a fitting way to bookend his sparkling career, however, there are probably too many obstacles to overcome to make a transfer back to Sporting Lisbon viable.
While playing for the newly-crowned Portuguese champions would offer Cristiano Ronaldo a route back to the Champions League, signing the 40-year-old megastar would go against the club’s business model.
Sporting’s mantra has always been to develop young players before selling them on at a profit – a process that Ronaldo went through himself as a teenager in Lisbon – so re-signing their former academy starlet with his mammoth wage packet could disrupt the Leões methodology.
The bookmakers have priced this possibility at 4/1, though in reality, it feels like there is a way lower than 20% chance of this one coming to fruition.
::: Any South American club – 4/1
Brazilian giants Fluminense made contact with Cristiano Ronaldo’s camp in an ambitious bid to sign the striker ahead of the Club World Cup, though the player rebuffed the idea and passed up the chance to represent the Tricolor.
Ronaldo’s reluctance to consider a switch to one of South America’s biggest clubs would suggest a reticence to move to a team in the continent as a whole, with few divisions in that region of the world offering the kind of profile and platform his brand would need.
Other Brazilian clubs like Botafogo, Palmeiras and Flamengo have also been loosely linked with Ronaldo before, as have Argentinean powerhouses Boca Juniors and River Plate, however, a possible move in any of those directions can be pushed into the unlikely category for now.
::: Any MLS club – 7/2
A permanent move to the MLS could appeal to Cristiano Ronaldo from both a playing and business perspective and the creative deal makers in the USA are already believed to be cooking up creative financial packages to tempt the Portuguese star across the Atlantic.
Ronaldo’s rival Lionel Messi surprised many supporters and observers when he chose to sign for Miami last year and it was a craftily-made deal that included part-club ownership that convinced the Argentinean to take his skills to America.
With Ronaldo entering the twilight of his career, taking a first step into the world of club ownership while also competing in a league where defences are easier to breach could provide the perfect setting for his swansong.
::: Al Hilal – 5/2
Lastly – and easily the most controversial possibility – involves Cristiano Ronaldo moving across Riyadh from Al-Nassr to join bitter local rivals Al-Hilal.
Most of the rumours fuelling this potential outcome have been centred around Ronaldo’s - and other stakeholders’ – desperation to play at the expanded, money-spinning Club World Cup this summer.
Al Hilal qualified for the CWC by winning the 2021 Asian Champions League and ahead of the tournament, they have been looking to strengthen their roster with some top-class additions.
Having failed to wrangle Ronaldo’s compatriot Bruno Fernandes away from Manchester United, the Blue Waves could have the budget to go big in another direction, however, some whispers have already suggested that Al Hilal have already pushed back against some Ronaldo-led proposals.
While Al-Hilal still dominate the Ronaldo transfer market odds, time is running out and little in the way of concrete developments has occurred.
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Al Nassr is on September 21, against Jeddah Club, for the King's Cup. You can watch Jeddah Club vs Al Nassr, PSG vs Atletico Madrid, Argentina vs Colombia, England vs Senegal, Brazil vs Paraguay and USA vs Switzerland, all matches provided from our sports live game pages.
Al Nassr next game:
Jeddah Club vs Al Nassr kick-off time (21-09-2025):
Beijing (China) | UTC/GMT+7: 03:00
India (New Delhi) | UTC/GMT+4.30: 00:30
Saudi Arabia (Riyadh) | UTC/GMT+2: 22:00
Spain (Madrid) | UTC/GMT+1: 21:00
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | UTC/GMT+0: 20:00
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | UTC/GMT-3: 17:00
New York (United States) | UTC/GMT-4: 16:00
Los Angeles (United States) | UTC/GMT-7: 13:00
Sources: ronaldo7.net / manutd.com / cityam.com
