Football
Could Ronaldo play in India?
Cristiano Ronaldo recently migrated from Europe to Asia, meaning that there is a chance that the AFC Champions League will bring him to India next season.
Cristiano Ronaldo with his Al-Nassr jersey.
After Cristiano Ronaldo's big-money move to Asian football was announced, a single question has been knocking on many minds: Could Ronaldo play in India? In any capacity?
Surely the 38-year-old joining an Indian Super League outfit is a far-fetched, but one way he could possibly grace the sub-continent is through AFC competitions. The former Manchester United man recently signed with Al-Nassr FC, a club plying its trade in the Saudi Pro League, in Saudi Arabia.
While Al-Nassr wasn't in the AFC Champions League this season, Ronaldo might just find himself playing in a Champions League next year. Currently topping the league, the Saudi outfit will have to either win the Saudi Pro League or win the King Cup.
At the moment, Al-Nassr stands atop the league table with 26 points from 11 games, and are in the quarter-finals of the King Cup. However, these qualification standards work only till the 2023-24 season.
According to the new AFC regulations, India has lost its direct Champions League spot, and will only have two AFC Cup slots, one direct and one indirect, from the 2024-25 season onwards. Hence, the next season is the best chance for Ronaldo to play against an Indian team.
For the 2023-24 AFC Champions League, the Indian entrant will be decided between a playoff between Jamshedpur FC (2021-22 League Shield winners) and the club which wins the league in the ongoing 2022-23 season.
Ultimately, if Al-Nassr does manage to enter the AFC Champions League next season, then both the Saudi club and the Indian club will have to be placed in the same group. Only then will Indian fans witness Cristiano Ronaldo on their home soil.
