Virus-hit Ronaldo to miss Asian Champions League opener

Due to a viral ailment, Cristiano Ronaldo will miss Al Nassr's Asian Champions League opening this week against Al Shorta in Iraq.

When the competition begins today, the Portuguese veteran hopes to add the top club title in Asia to his already impressive list of accomplishments.

"Cristiano Ronaldo, the captain of Real Madrid, was not feeling well today and was diagnosed with a viral infection," the club announced in a statement that was shared on social media on Sunday.

"He needs to rest and stay at home, the team doctor has verified. He won't be going to Iraq with the team today as a result. We hope for a quick recovery for our skipper.

Earlier this year, the former forward for Real Madrid and Manchester United lost to eventual champions Al Ain in a penalty shootout during his first game with Saudi side Al Nassr.

Al Nassr and the other Saudi teams will pose a serious danger now that they are known as the Asian Champions League Elite, having recently spent enormous sums of money on players like Neymar and Ronaldo.

When he moved from Brentford to Al Ahli last month for a fee above $45 million, England forward Ivan Toney became the most well-known figure to leave Europe for Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia, which is slated to host the 2034 World Cup, will hold a minor knockout tournament as part of the revamped competition starting in the quarterfinals to choose the winners, who will get at least $12 million.

When the Champions League Elite debuts with a new format that divides 24 teams evenly into two groups of East and West, Al Nassr, Al Ahli, and Neymar's Al Hilal will all be involved.

In the group stage, each team will face eight different opponents.

Before the action advances to the final stages in Saudi Arabia from April 25 to May 4, the top eight teams from each zone will compete in the last 16 over two legs in March.
Al Ain is one of two UAE teams competing in this year's event; the other teams in the West Zone are from Qatar, Iran, Uzbekistan, and Iraq.

Japan's clubs have achieved the finest results in the East lately, and Yokohama is back in the Champions League to lead their charge.

Due to his team's dismal domestic performance, Harry Kewell, the former forward for Leeds and Liverpool, was fired as coach after bringing them to the championship game of the previous season.

Japan is represented by Kawasaki Frontale and Vissel Kobe, while South Korea is represented by debutants Gwangju, twice-champion Ulsan, and three-time champion Pohang Steelers.

Although Chinese clubs have long since lost their ability to spend big money, Shanghai Port, under the direction of Australian coach Kevin Muscat, still has former Chelsea attacker Oscar on their roster.

In the East League stage, one club each from Australia, Thailand, and Malaysia is competing, together with Shandong Taishan and Shanghai Shenhua from China.