CR7 of Arabia: now the Portuguese fear the betrayal of the 2030 world candidacy

A check for 1 billion and 200 million euros for an eight-year commitment. Cristiano Ronaldo has also decided to cash in on competitive decline and is doing it in the best possible way. And the details of the agreement that the former Portuguese champion is preparing to sign with the Saudis tell of how he is preparing to monetize above all the image and the role of testimonial.
As reported by the Spanish newspapers Marca and AS, CR7 is about to sign a commitment that would extend until 2030, but which only until the end of the 2025 season will it concern the competitive commitment as a footballer of Al Nassr. The rest of the bond will concern the testimonial mission for the World Cup that Saudi Arabia hopes to organize in 2030. A candidacy that competes with the one that the federation of the country of CR7 promotes together with Spain and Ukraine. And now in Portugal they fear that their most representative footballer passes to the competition, celebrating a perfect betrayal.

The attempt to mitigate – According to what the Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manhâ reported in the edition that went on newsstands this morning, there would be a distinction to be made regarding any testimonial activity for the Saudi World Cup. In fact, it seems that Cristiano Ronaldo intends to play that role only after the 2030 edition of the World Cup will be assigned. So that would mean that his advertising efforts on behalf of his new employers would not run counter to his country’s ambitions to stage the world cup. But this version of events appears to be nothing more than an attempt to tone down the reality of things. A representation of short-term facts, which could go into crisis very soon. For instancewhat if the Portuguese Football Federation asked CR7 to lend its image to the Portugal-Spain-Ukraine 2030 bid? Would the player really take sides against the candidacy of those who cut him a check for 1.2 billion euros for the next eight years? We allow ourselves to doubt.

power games – The truth is that the Saudis will do everything to host the 2030 edition. To succeed in the enterprise, they have even concocted a tri-continental candidacy which up to now is unique. The Saudis will in fact try to achieve this goal by associating themselves with a European federation (Greece) and an African one (Egypt). This is a ploy certainly made necessary by the fact that from the next edition in 2026 the final phase of the World Cup will be for 48 teams, which makes hospitality from a single country unsustainable. But what makes us lean towards this formula is above all the need to circumvent the Fifa regulation regarding the alternation between continents to host the final phase of the World Cup. The regulation says that a continent cannot host the World Cup again if at least two editions do not pass. And with Asia just hosting a finals, the Saudis wouldn’t hear it again until 2034. But if the candidacy also involves a European and an African federation, what about it? Here is the knight’s move that messes everything up. Fair to say that the Saudis will leave no stone unturned to clinch the 2030 World Cup. Cristiano Ronaldo will have to conform to the wishes of his generous employers, he will.