Cristiano Ronaldo may face ISL Teams or fly to India for Away Legs if ISL League Winners and Al-Nassr FC are placed in the same group or face each other in the knockout stages of the 2023–24 AFC Champions League, which is scheduled to take place in August this year.
The Portugal captain moved to Manchester United following his heroics for Juventus. Despite being one of the most proficient players on the field, CR7 experienced a severe rift with the team following his controversial interview with English journalist Piers Morgan. Cristiano moved to another region after no European club wanted to sign him, according to reports. The 37-year-old Ronaldo has scored 819 goals in his professional football career 700 of which have come in club games. With 24 goals, including 18 in the Premier League, he was Manchester United’s top scorer the previous season.
Ronaldo’s surprise move to Al-Nassr is a golden opportunity for Indian fans
The former veteran of Manchester United moved to Saudi Arabia to likely play his final season in Asia. Ronaldo agreed to a two-deal contract with the Al-Nissr that will supposedly pay him $200 million annually and last until June 2025. The renowned player just made his debut in Saudi Arabia against Paris Saint-Germain and his arch-rival Lionel Messi.
Now, there is a possibility that Cristiano Ronaldo could visit India to play in the 2023–24 AFC Champions League. Al-Nassr is now in first place in the Saudi Pro League, and should they succeed in that endeavor, they can move on to the AFC Champions League, where they might encounter an ISL squad.
He did, however, score a total of three goals in English tournaments before his contract with Manchester United expired. In Qatar last year, Ronaldo took part in his final FIFA World Cup, but he was unable to take home the prized World Cup trophy as the grand reward. Portugal was eliminated from the competition after their quarterfinal match against Morocco. In the Round of 16 and Quarterfinals of the World Cup in Qatar, he failed to score for Portugal.
Can Al-Nassr star Ronaldo play in India?
Now that Ronaldo has moved on to Al-Nassr, there is good news for his Indian admirers. The Portuguese star might visit India and play against a team from the Indian Super League (ISL), which would be an exciting moment for all CR7 fans in India.
With his transfer to Al-Nassr, Ronaldo will now take part in the AFC Champions League, which is the equivalent of the UEFA Champions League in Asia. There will be three group stage slots and one play-off round spot available for Saudi Arabia in the AFC Champions League in 2023–2024.
While Al Fayha, the 2022–23 Kings Cup champions, secure the play-off round spot, Al-Hilal, the 2021–2022 Saudi Pro League champions, has already taken the first group stage spot in AFC 2023–2024. The final two berths will go to the 2022– 2023 SPL and domestic cup winners, respectively. As a result, Al-Nassr will gain direct entry into the AFC Champions League if they win either the league or the domestic cup.
On the other side, one squad Indian Super League Season 9 also qualifies for the AFC Champions League. Al-Nassr can play an Indian club in the group stage if they are placed in the same group because they are both members of the same West Zone of the AFC.. The winner of the playoff between the 2021–22 and 2022–23 ISL League Winners’ Shield winners will earn India’s direct group stage spot in the AFC Champions League 2023–24. Jamshedpur FC already has theformer title and has earned a direct playoff entry.