According to reports in the media of Saudi Arabia, UEFA is considering extending an invitation to Al Nassr to compete in the Champions League during the following season, which will coincide with the tournament’s transition to a new format and its expansion of its scope.
On November 12, journalist Al Harbi released this information on X, which was formerly known as Twitter. Many Saudi newspapers used this information in their articles. The information has also drawn the attention of European media outlets due to the fact that UEFA had already declared that the Champions League would have a change in tournament format beginning in the following year.
“UEFA is contemplating extending an invitation to Al Nassr of Saudi Arabia to compete in the Champions League 2024 due to the fact that they are “one of the three most famous clubs in the world.” The European Union Football Association (UEFA) is of the opinion that Al Nassr is both talented and popular across the continent of Asia. Al Harbi referred to Europe in his writing.
In the event that this transpires, Cristiano Ronaldo will have the chance to play in the stadium where he first gained widespread recognition. The Portuguese striker won the Champions League five times and holds the record for most goals scored in the history of the competition with 140 goals.
After the conclusion of the upcoming season of the Champions League, UEFA has decided to do away with the present group division framework. Instead, the 36 teams that are participating will be combined into one huge group and seeded according to their previous performance. The Swiss system, which is a format popular in chess and some e-sports, is used to choose the winners of each match.
In the second round, the teams that won the first round will play each other, the teams that tied will play each other, and the teams that didn’t win will play each other. Teams that have better scores will have a greater chance of colliding with each other, which will result in more intense combat. After the first ten rounds, the top eight teams in terms of strength will advance directly to the 1/8 round. In order to determine the final eight teams who will compete in the 1/8 round, the 16 teams that come in after them will compete against one another in a play-off. The teams who finish in 17th through 24th place will be relegated to the Europa League, while the teams that finish last will be eliminated.
There is no reason to believe that the UEFA will not consider inviting teams from outside of Europe to compete in order to make the event more appealing. The Swiss format ensures that every team will compete in at least 10 matches throughout the tournament. At the moment, the maximum number of matches that a team can play before being eliminated occurs during the group stage.
In his second season with Al Nassr, Ronaldo is currently playing at a high level of form. Ronaldo scored the 13th goal for Al Nassr in their victory over Al Wehda in round 13 of the Saudi Pro League on November 11. This goal helped Ronaldo solidify his position as the leader in the race for the most goals scored in the Saudi Pro League. Al Nassr is currently in second place in the tournament, trailing Al Hilal by four points for the lead.