It is a concretized interest in the literal sense.

The Spanish 'Marca' reported on the 8th (Korean time) that "it is true that Cristiano Ronaldo hopes to acquire the La Liga club Valencia. However, there is a huge distance in reality," adding that "while Ronaldo and the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund aim to acquire La Liga, no progress has been made yet."

Ronaldo, who plays for Al Nassr, is contracted until June 30. However, he is more interested in participating in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup than signing a new contract with Al Nassr. The 2025 Club World Cup will take place in the United States, one of the host countries for the North and Central America World Cup in 2026. However, with Al Nassr failing to qualify, the uncertainty surrounding Ronaldo's stay has increased.

Ronaldo has shown a willingness to sign with one of the teams competing in the Club World Cup instead of Al Nassr. He is contracted with Al Nassr until the end of June, which makes participation in the Club World Cup from June 15 to July 13 difficult.

However, the system was improved to allow player signings only for teams participating in the Club World Cup from June 1 to 10. Ronaldo wants to participate in this tournament even if it means signing a short-term contract for one month. According to the article, Ronaldo, as a Free Agent (FA), wishes to utilize the June transfer market to join a team participating in the Club World Cup, with interest shown from Real Madrid (Spain), Inter Milan (Italy), and Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia).

Real Madrid is preparing for the 'last dance' of Ronaldo, who has won the Ballon d'Or five times, while Inter Milan needs a reliable striker like Ronaldo. Al Hilal is another Saudi team that had better results than Al Nassr, winning the championship last season.

Sky Sports noted that "the likelihood of Real Madrid and Inter Milan signing Ronaldo seems quite low," emphasizing that "a transfer to Al Hilal could be a more realistic option."

Some speculate that when Ronaldo signed with Al Nassr, he added an option for participation in the Club World Cup and may enter into a short-term contract with a participating team during the tournament.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid and Al Hilal are grouped in the same H group along with Pachuca (Mexico) and Salzburg (Austria). Inter Milan is positioned in Group E with River Plate (Argentina), Urawa Red Diamonds (Japan), and Monterrey (Mexico). Ulsan Hyundai, which participated from Korea, is in Group F with Fluminense (Brazil), Borussia Dortmund (Germany), and Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa).

As much as his greed for football, Ronaldo shows tremendous passion for business. He owns hotels, clothing lines, and fitness centers through his CR7 brand and is rapidly growing his wealth by investing in real estate, media, and tech companies.

Now the next area is the acquisition of a football club. Earlier, Mundo Deportivo explained, "Ronaldo likes to earn money as much as he enjoys playing matches. By consistently playing in the Middle East, he has built connections to expand his business empire. Now he seriously wants to acquire a football club."

Mundo Deportivo emphasized, "Ronaldo's next goal is to make Valencia a part of his ownership. He has played in Spain for over nine years in the past and met his partner Georgina Rodriguez in Spain. And if Ronaldo bids, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund will support him."

The media reported that "Ronaldo seeks to acquire Valencia if the team is not relegated. With the union of Ronaldo and the Saudi Fund, it would be enough to purchase Valencia, and local fans are also expected to welcome this acquisition attempt."

Valencia owner Peter Lim has actually alienated local fans by making the worst moves. In particular, he shocked fans by developing Korean football ace Lee Kang-in and then selling him for free due to a lack of space.

At that time, Valencia had several promising players including Lee Kang-in and Ferran Torres, but they struggled to establish themselves due to Peter Lim's disastrous management and the resistance from veterans. In fact, it is said that Valencia captain Dani Parejo showed discrimination against younger players.

Torres, who is close friends with Kang-in, revealed, "When I first joined the team at 17, Parejo was a great player, and I had no relationship with him. It wasn't until weeks later that I managed to say 'hello.' He was not a good captain. When Marcelino left, Kang-in and I were treated as scapegoats, and no one spoke to us for a week."

In fact, Parejo too was ousted from Valencia after sidelining promising players like Torres and Kang-in. Given this situation, if Ronaldo successfully acquires Valencia, he could rebuild a pipeline of promising players. Kang-in, who joined Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) via Mallorca, might someday return to Valencia.

However, there is still a long way to go before Ronaldo acquires Valencia. Marca pointed out, "The partnership of Ronaldo and Saudi capital certainly has the ability to acquire a team. However, they have not yet discussed concrete matters with Singapore's Lim. It is a situation that requires waiting."

[OSEN]