China tour Confirmed For Cristiano Ronaldo & Al Nassr After Cancelling Friendlies Due To Injury

Back in January, Cristiano Ronaldo issued a heartfelt apology to supporters after the cancellation of the China friendlies. He said, “I’ve been coming to China since 2003, or 2004, and I feel at home here. I feel this is my second home. We will be back.” At 39, this looked more like a hopeful expression than a claim based on reality. However, fast forward to four months, and it looks like CR7 will be back in China to participate not in a friendly, but a high-stakes knockout tournament.

At the start of the year, Al Nassr was scheduled for a China tour to play 2 friendly games. However, an untimely muscle injury to Cristiano Ronaldo caused Al Nassr to shelve the plans. The news was met with huge disappointment from the supporters but their wish looks set to come true.

Cristiano Ronaldo set for China visit in 2025

As per reports on X, the next edition of the Saudi Super Cup will be held in China. No further details regarding the schedule have been released. The tournament usually takes place in the second half of the season and it seems inevitable that Cristiano Ronaldo will return to China in 2025. As per current format rules, the top 2 in the Saudi Pro League as well as the finalists of the King Cup participate in the Super Cup. With Al Nassr 2nd in the league, the Knights of Najd looks certain to participate in the tournament.

In the last Super Cup, Al Nassr was bested by rivals Al Hilal. Additionally, it was the 3rd time in the season that Cristiano Ronaldo & Co lost to Jorge Jesus’ side. Al Hilal eventually won the tournament. Yet, an interesting talking point was how the tournament was conducted in Abu Dhabi as opposed to the familiar pastures of Saudi Arabia.

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Saudi Super Cup looks set to move away from traditional venues

Abu Dhabi this year, China next year. Since its inception in 2013, the Saudi Super Cup was a Saudi Arabia-based tournament until last year. As such, the move to Abu Dhabi was puzzling at first until the reasons were revealed. The SAFF president said, “It extends the close cooperation between Saudi Arabia and the UAE in football, enhancing sponsorship initiatives to achieve common aspirations through supporting knowledge exchange and development.”

Hence, there could be a possibility that China and Saudi Arabia could have a soccer partnership of their own. Furthermore, the influx of megastars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, and Karim Benzema is said to have boosted the SPL’s visibility in other countries. Considering the excitement regarding CR7’s visit to China, hosting one of Asia’s prestigious soccer tournaments could be a landmark moment as far as Chinese soccer is concerned.

Is moving the Super Cup outside of Saudi a good idea? Let us know your thoughts below.