After a comfortable and laid-back holiday, Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo is finally returning. After Portugal was eliminated by France in the European Championship, Ronaldo entered the holiday early. During this time, he rarely appeared, and there were many rumors that Ronaldo might have to withdraw from the national team or retire early. This has caused many fans to worry about its prospects next season, especially after the previous confirmed absence from Riyadh Victory against Porto.
But just now, the rumors broke down. According to the official release of Riyadh Victory, the team will play a warm-up match on August 8, when Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo will return to the team and start the game. This heralds the return of Cristiano Ronaldo to the team in early August, and the grape star still has no intention of retiring or retiring from the national team. He still wants to continue to play professionally, which is very gratifying to many fans who support him.
For Cristiano Ronaldo, he is now even more combative. According to insiders, the Portugal star was unhappy with his team's exit to the quarter-finals at the European Championships, believing he and his team-mates should have done better. For Cristiano Ronaldo, he still has big ambitions. The first is to continue his campaign in club competitions, having signed a two-year contract extension with Riyadh Victory. It is conservatively estimated that he will play until 2026, when the Portugal superstar has a bold idea, which is to continue to play in the US-Canada-Mexico World Cup as a starter. The Portugal star wants to set a record that can never be broken by other players, and that is six World Cup appearances.
At that time, he will become the record holder for the number of appearances in both the European Championship and the World Cup, and since it cannot be the highest mountain, then it will become the longest river, which is Ronaldo's idea. It can be said that fans do not have to worry about the Portugal star having the idea of retiring in the short term, because he still wants to continue running on the green field, which is undoubtedly a relief to fans. And in the case that Ronaldo's return to the first game of the new season is confirmed, the opponent of this game should also pay attention.
Riyadh Victory's opponent in this game is Almeria, and fans familiar with La Liga will be familiar with this team. Although they are considered lower teams in La Liga, their overall strength is about the same as that of Riyadh in the Saudi league. And they have reached a staggering 81.1 million euros in terms of squad value. Almeria were relegated to the second division last season due to poor performances in La Liga. For them, they are also eager to start the new season with a win, so they will take this game very seriously.
For Cristiano Ronaldo and Riyadh to win, you have to be well prepared to win. Looking at Almeria's recent games, we can see that the current form of this team is not bad. In the two warm-up matches in July, they won one and lost one, beating Granada 2-1. The losing game was a 3-1 defeat to Benfica. Benfica's form is good enough to be able to play 1-3 with them at the moment. When Riyadh Victory faced Portugal last season, they lost 10 goals in two games. Therefore, the overall strength of Almeria is not inferior to them.
If you want to win this warm-up match, Cristiano Ronaldo and Riyadh will need to work hard. For Riyadh Victory in the new season, the team has reached an impasse on the recruitment side after losing the official financial support of the league. On the basis of not being able to bring in new top five league stars, they can only continue to rely on veterans such as Ronaldo and Mane next season. I have to say that the situation in the new season is still very challenging for Ronaldo. I wonder if this time, the Portugal veteran who never admits defeat can still lead the team to stand out and break through in the number of titles? You are welcome to discuss in the comment section.