Al Hilal CEO Esteve Calzada has stated that it would have been “a very unusual situation” for his club to sign Cristiano Ronaldo, who currently plays for their eternal rival, Al Nassr. The giants of the Saudi Pro League were linked with a possible deal to sign Ronaldo during the additional transfer window that FIFA introduced due to the Club World Cup. “And, who haven’t we been linked with?”, commented Calzada.
Calzada emphasized that it would be “a very unusual situation to reinforce your team with a player from your eternal rival”.Cristiano too, of course. Well, we’re a bit like Real Madrid in Saudi Arabia, we’re the club everyone leaks stories about because they might be interested in something… Sometimes it’s true, but often it’s not. It reminds me of the early days of Manchester City… when it seemed like every player had an offer from City. We’ve adopted the policy of not commenting on rumors. At the end of the day, Al Nassr [Cristiano’s former team] is like Atlético and Al Hilal is like Madrid.
Esteve Calzada, CEO of Al Hilal
Calzada anticipates a very active summer for his club in the transfer market.We’ve had top-level coaches who have offered their services and insisted on coming, and the same goes for top-level players. Top-level players… And we have a very, very strong squad. The positive thing about seeing so many important names associated with us is that people are no longer surprised or see it as something impossible, but rather think it’s something that could happen, and that shows what kind of club we are.
Esteve Calzada, CEO of Al Hilal
Al Hilal finished as runners-up to Al Ittihad this season, after winning the Saudi Pro League title in 2023-24 under the management of Jorge Jesus.When the competition is over, we are going to be very active. We are a very ambitious club and we are expected to win. We come from a season in which we did not win the league. Although we finished second, for us it is a failure.
Esteve Calzada, CEO of Al Hilal
