Will Cristiano Ronaldo play in Champions League for Al-Nassr? UEFA Prez offers big update

Cristiano Ronaldo's impact at Al-Nassr has been pretty huge. The Portuguese guided the Saudi Arabian side to the Arab Club Champions Cup title this season and will also mount a title challenge in the Saudi Pro League. His influence has been so huge that several top players the likes of Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kante and Roberto Firmino followed him to the Middle East country.

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3 things you need to know

• Manchester City are the reigning European champions
• AL-Ittihad were crowned as the Saudi Pro League champions last season
• Cristiano Ronaldo joined AL-Nassr at the start of this year

UEFA President offers big update on Cristiano Ronaldo

There had been reports that Saudi Pro League clubs might get a wildcard entry into the Champions League and there could be an outside chance of Cristiano Ronaldo coming back to his old stomping ground. But UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin crushed all the rumours claiming only European clubs will be allowed to participate in the premier tournament.

As quoted by French publication L'Equipe Ceferin said, “We are trying to be different. So any change or improvement that can be introduced to the league will be welcome.”

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"A media outlet talked about this without even asking us.

"Only European clubs can participate in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League.

"Only European federations can apply [to host] a final, not even clubs. We would have to change all our rules, and we don't want that."

Saudi Pro League takes massive strides

Saudi clubs have been splashing money like water in the transfer market as there has been a player recruiting spree in the Saudi Pro League. Players from top European leagues arrived in the country but Ceferin insisted it doesn't pose a threat to Europe. "It's not a threat, we saw a similar approach in China, which bought players at the end of their careers by offering them a lot of money.

 "Chinese football didn't develop and didn't qualify for the World Cup afterwards. There are players at the end of their careers and others who aren't ambitious enough to aspire to the 'top' competitions. As far as I know, [Kylian] Mbappe and [Erling] Haaland don't dream of Saudi Arabia. I don't believe that the best players at the pinnacle of their careers would go to Saudi Arabia. When people talk to me about the players who went there, nobody knows where they're playing."