 "Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr FC are set to play a match against FC Goa in India. Images: Cristiano Ronaldo on X")
Cristiano Ronaldo might soon be coming to India as the Indian Super League (ISL) club FC Goa was drawn with Al Nassr in Group D of the AFC Champions League Two group stage on Friday. The AFC Champions League Two group stage will be played in the home-and-away round-robin format, which means Ronaldo’s Al Nassr will be travelling to Goa for one group match.
Which also means the former Manchester United and Real Madrid player and five-time Ballon d’Or winner, Ronaldo, could be playing a football match soon at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Fatorda Stadium) in Margao, Goa
Ronaldo has never played in India, while Lionel Messi played a friendly match with Argentina against Venezuela in Kolkata in September 2011.
Will Ronaldo skip match in India vs Goa?
While a few gossip columns have reported that Ronaldo’s new contract at Al Nassr has a clause that allows him to skip away matches in the AFC Champions League Two, there’s no official confirmation on the same. As per this, nothing is stopping Ronaldo from coming to India for a football match.
However, considering his workload and that Goa are among the so-called weaker teams in Group D, Ronaldo may not travel for the game.
Besides Al Nassr, Al Zawraa SC (Iraq) and FC Istiklol (Tajikistan) are also part of FC Goa’s Group D.
Indian football giants Mohun Bagan SG have been drawn in Group C against Sepahan SC (Iran), Al Hussein (Jordan), and Ahal FC (Turkmenistan).
Mohun Bagan booked their spot in the AFC Champions League Two group stage by winning the 2024-25 ISL Shield.
Goa qualified for the group stage by beating Al Seeb of Oman in the playoff. Goa reached the playoffs by winning the Super Cup.