Magnus Carlsen - the Norwegian chess champion will compete in the 2025 Esports World Cup taking place in the capital Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) from July 29 to August 1.
This is the first time chess has been included in the competition system of the world's leading e-sports event, with a total prize fund of up to 1.5 million USD.
Sharing in an interview with the organizers, Carlsen unexpectedly expressed his hope to play a game with Cristiano Ronaldo during the tournament.
I dont know if Ronaldo plays chess, but I really want to try playing against him. It is an honor to meet him," said Carlsen.
This player also emphasized that chess is becoming more and more popular in the sports world, especially among football players. He listed many prominent names who love chess such as Mohamed Salah, Harry Kane, Ødegaard, Pulisic and Kante.
However, the two biggest symbols of football today, Ronaldo and Messi, have never publicly expressed their interest in this intellectual sport.
However, Ronaldo and Messi once caused a stir in the world with a famous photo of them "fighting the flag" in 2022. It was an advertising campaign by a luxury fashion brand, combining two superstars in a chess game taken from the real-life match between Carlsen and Nakamura in the 2017 Norwegian Championship.
Although it is just an staged product, this image attracted tens of millions of likes and became one of the iconic moments.
The possibility of Carlsen meeting Ronaldo in this tournament is quite low, because during the EWC, Al Nassr was training in Europe and had no schedule to return to Riyadh before August 1.
Carlsen has always been a football enthusiast, especially Real Madrid - Ronaldo's former team. He met the Portuguese striker while playing in Spain and even appeared at the Bernabeu in an honorary role after being crowned world champion.
