GENEVA (AP) — Last-minute transfer signings are open to all 32 teams going to the Club World Cup in the United States next month, FIFA said Wednesday, likely fueling more speculation that one of them will try to sign Cristiano Ronaldo on a short-term deal.
FIFA confirmed all 20 home national federations of the 32 teams have taken up an offer made last year to approve special trading windows for the monthlong tournament that opens June 14 in Miami.
Transfers can be made from June 1-10 and again June 27-July 3 according to exceptional rules FIFA approved in October.
“The objective is to encourage clubs and players whose contracts are expiring to find an appropriate solution to facilitate the players’ participation,” FIFA said in Wednesday’s statement.
One such player is Trent Alexander-Arnold, who is leaving Liverpool where his contract expires on June 30. He is expected to join Real Madrid which could try to reach agreement to take him to the U.S. next month. Liverpool did not qualify for the Club World Cup.
Ronaldo’s Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr also did not qualify because it did not win an Asian Champions League title between 2021 and 2024.
That has not stopped speculation the 40-year-old Portugal great could make a transfer, potentially on a short-term loan, ahead of the Club World Cup.
Such a move would be unprecedented in modern soccer though could appeal to FIFA by boosting the profile and ticket sales of an inaugural tournament being played in 11 U.S. cities. It has been unclear if many fans of the teams will travel to the U.S. for the 63-game tournament.
A transfer for Ronaldo also would reunite him and Lionel Messi in the same competition for the first time since the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Last October, FIFA invited Messi’s Inter Miami to enter the tournament in the slot that was expected to be reserved for the host nation’s champion. Inter Miami led the regular season standings but was then eliminated in the MLS Cup playoffs.
Speculative reports have linked Ronaldo to the one Saudi club that qualified, Al Hilal, the Brazilian club Palmeiras and Wydad of Morocco, even though that club is currently banned by FIFA from registering new signings.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has promoted the Club World Cup at recent meetings with U.S. President Donald Trump, and the new gold trophy has been prominent in the Oval Office at the White House.
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