Cristiano Ronaldo’s hopes of returning to the Champions League with Al-Nassr have been dashed after UEFA banned Saudi teams from participating in the competition.
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin has definitively ruled out the possibility of Saudi teams taking part in his competitions, dismissing media reports which had suggested there was a chance that Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr or other Saudi Pro League teams get a “wildcard” to participate in the Champions League.
SPL chief operating officer Carlo Nohra had added weight to the prospect of Saudi teams participating in Europe’s elite competition by saying: “We try to be different. So any changes or improvements that can be introduced to the league will be welcome.”
” A media spoke about this without even asking our opinion”Ceferin told The Team. “Only European clubs can participate in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League. The UEFA president also said there was no chance of the Champions League final being played in the United States. ” Only European federations can apply for the organization of a final, not even clubs. We should change all our rules, and we don’t want that.”he added.
Mr Ceferin said he was not worried that Saudi football could compete with European football, despite the fact that big stars such as Ronaldo, Neymar, Ruben Neves, Sadio Mane and N’Golo Kante, among others, have installed in the Gulf State this year.
