According to former head coach of MLS team Kansas City, Peter Wilmes, told ESPN that Ronaldo was close to joining the team in 2023.

Wilmes said: "Royce's situation is obviously very special. It belongs to another level entirely. In addition to contract negotiations, life in Kansas City, game style and club infrastructure, we also discussed jersey sales, and the sponsorship agreement that comes with it."

"Beckham is a perfect example. When he came to the United States, I dared not speculate on his specific ideas, but from what I understand, he was trying to build his own brand in North America... It's a lot to do your brand after retirement."

However, it's one thing to do in Los Angeles, and another thing to do the same in Kansas. "Here, your life outside of football will be very good because people respect your time very much, and when you go out, the people in the community are also friendly, which is a small city in a big city. Many times we play on Saturdays, and if you want to stay on Sundays, we can rest on Mondays. You can stay in the city for two days and let your family fly over... You don't have to live there, and you don't have to worry about traffic jams."

After two preliminary conversations, the negotiations for Ronaldo to join Kansas City began to make progress, and then there was a more in-depth discussion "about three times", with many people on both sides participating. However, Ronaldo eventually went to the US League and chose Saudi team Riyadh to win and played for it.

Wilmes said that in such deals, it is relatively easy to sell football to players, but the off-court factor is much more difficult because "many people want to live in New York, California... or Miami."