Transfer rumours: Cristiano Ronaldo to leave Al-Nassr for Wydad Casablanca to play Club World Cup? 5 facts about Moroccan club

Cristiano Ronaldo may leave Saudi Pro Leagie's Al-Nassr FC to be part of the rejuvenated FIFA Club World Cup starting in the United States next month, unconfirmed reports have said. The Portuguese icon had earlier guaranteed that it was certain that he would not make a comeback to Europe ahead of retirement despite Turkish fan groups having reportedly asked their teams to go after the veteran attacker. 

 

Meanwhile, many reports have linked Cristiano Ronaldo to an African team ahead of the Club World Cup. According to reports, CR7 is being lured by Wydad Athletic Club (Wydad AC) of Morocco with a chance to play the Club World Cup. Often referred to as Wydad Casablanca outside Morocco, the club is a powerhouse in the African nation, but are drawn alongside Ronaldo's former club Juventus, the mighty Manchester City and Al Ain in Group G. No wonder the North Africans are looking to get on board the vast experience of the Portugal captain ahead of the tournament. 

 

While we don't know if Ronaldo will call time on his time in Riyadh, here are five things about the club that is being rumoured to be interested in signing him.

 

 

 

 

1. Founded on 8 May 1937, it is one of three clubs to have never been relegated from the Moroccan top flight or Botola Pro.

 

2. The most successful football club in Morocco, Wydad have won a record of 22 domestic leagues, 9 Moroccan Throne Cup and 4 Moroccan Elite Cup among other titles. At the continental stage, they have so far lifted three CAF Champions Leagues, one CAF Super Cup and one Afro-Asian Club Championship. They have also won the Arab Club Champions Cup and the Arab Super Cup once.

 

3. Wydad's home ground is the Mohamed V Stadium, also called the Honor Stadium or simply Donor.  Raja CA, the archrivals of the Red and Whites, also played the home games here and thus the derbies become a heated affair like in Milan. Donor can seat 67,000 people despite the North and South stands often unused. Wydad is the most-followed football team in the nation and their ultras are called "Ultras Winners 2005". According to Wikipedia, they were voted "World's best ultras" four times, in 2015,2017, 2019, and 2022 by 'Ultras World' magazine.

 

4. Wydad Athletic is the first team to win the Moroccan league after independence, the team to win the most titles in Morocco (50) and the team to have played the number of consecutive seasons in the Moroccan league (77).

 

5. In their 29-string current squad, nine are foreign players with the most being Brazilians. The team that stands third in the league standings during the time of compiling this report boasts an average age of 26. Mohamed Amine Benhachem is the manager of the current squad that is captained by defender Jamal Harkass. The 29-year-old has so far won three caps for the national team. Said Ait Mena, the incumbent club president, who is said to have brought  "stability thanks to an authoritarian but effective management" after a struggling period between 2003 and 2014.

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