Khabib reveals he has spoken to Ronaldo about 'dream' football career
UFC great Khabib Nurmagomedov reveals he has spoken to Cristiano Ronaldo and PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi about wanting to fulfil a ‘childhood dream’ by playing football professionally… before admitting his favourite club is Real Madrid
- Khabib Nurmagomedov is currently making the most of his retirement from UFC
- He is now weighing up his next move, with a return to the Ocatgon being mooted
- But he has revealed he wants to fulfil his ‘childhood dream’ by playing football
- Khabib has spoken to the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo about switching to football
Khabib Nurmagomedov now has plenty of time on his hands following his retirement from UFC and it appears he has a somewhat ambitious dream in the pipeline.
Khabib retired from UFC as the pound-for-pound king following his victory over Justin Gaethje last October at UFC 254, and he has recently been spending time on the football pitch with his friends.
Khabib, 32, also recently paid a visit to Spartak Moscow’s training ground. And he has since admitted that he would love to make the switch to football, and has even discussed his dreams with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi.
Khabib Nurmagomedov opened up to Cristiano Ronaldo about his ‘dream’ of playing football
Khabib, who recently retired from UFC, insisted that ‘football is the king of sports after all’
Khabib poses for a picture with injured Liverpool centre back Virgil van Dijk in Dubai
He told Match TV: ‘To play football on a professional level is a childhood dream. Of course, I have such a wish. Football is the king of sports after all.
‘Who haven’t I discussed this with! I’ve spoken even with the UEFA president Aleskandr Ceferin, with the owner of PSG, yes and even with Cristiano Ronaldo.’
Khabib, who recently spent time with Virgil van Dijk in Dubai as the Liverpool centre back continues his recovery from his ACL injury, has become a close friend with Ronaldo during the Portuguese’s nine-year stint at Real Madrid.
And the undefeated UFC star has admitted that his ‘dream club’ is Ronaldo’s former side Real Madrid.
Khabib said: ‘Spartak of course are great, but that’s domestic level. My dream club is Real Madrid.
‘In fact the first match I remember watching the full 90 minutes, was Real vs Juventus in 1998 [Champions League final]. I remember Mijatovic scored from an offside position, but we still won.’
Khabib has already spoken about his love for football, when he chose it as his number one sport ahead of UFC last year.
Khabib also said he spoke to PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi about wanting to play football
He told UFC Russia last year: ‘For me, football is the number one sport. When I was a child, I dreamed of being a football player and I have always watched football.
‘In a way, football is better [than mixed martial arts], you don’t have to fight or smash somebody – you just go onto grass and show everyone what you are capable of doing professionally. Of course, it is hard but I like it more, more than UFC, more than MMA.’
After retiring, there has been plenty of talk about what Khabib will do next, with a return to UFC being constantly mooted.
Khabib had met with UFC president Dana White last month on Fight Island, and there had been optimism that he would make a quick return with the latter claiming he could come out of retirement if he saw ‘something spectacular’ at UFC 257.
But the lightweight champion reiterated his will to stay retired and told White he was at a far higher level than Dustin Poirier, Conor McGregor, Michael Chandler and Dan Hooker, who all fought at UFC 257.
And the Russian has since confirmed that another meeting is in the pipeline with White at the end of the month, but did not discuss what it would be surrounding after insisting the lightweight division must go on.
Khabib retired from UFC after beating Justin Gaethje in Abu Dhabi last October
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