Besides mauling people inside the octagon, soccer is Khabib Nurmagomedov’s major love. ‘The Eagle’s’ affinity towards soccer is pretty much well known in the fighting world with the former undefeated champion revealing it on multiple occasions with his favorite team being the top-tier Spanish football giant, Real Madrid.
While the Russian always had this childhood dream to play football on a professional level with many teams like FC Kamaz of the Russian Professional Football League having offered the contract, it never got realized.
Now, a month after he was in action, playing with his pals in UAE, the former UFC champ in a recent interview has revealed that he has been speaking to Cristiano Ronaldo about a possible career in the field.
Nurmagomedov revealed his desire to Match TV wherein he said,
“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.”
Playing soccer on the professional level has always been a dream for Khabib who grew up watching the game, becoming a fan of it.
‘The Eagle’ is a die-hard Real Madrid fan and he is also close with one of their best footballers, Ronaldo. In fact, during the same interview, he explained that playing for the Spanish giant was his dream.
But he has also been seen gracing the dressing room of English soccer giants, Manchester United.
Khabib gifted Beckham and Ronaldo’s iconic No. 7
During his visit to the Theatre of Dreams in Manchester, the undefeated Dagestani met with the team’s legendary boss, Sir Alex Ferguson. Later, in an Instagram post, he thanked the team for having invited him to the stadium on a match day.
He even took home the iconic #7 shirt, once graced by the likes of Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo, for which he seemed eternally grateful.
Unfortunately, he had to contend with the home team managing a draw against Everton on that fateful day in 2021. That was okay though.
As disappointing as the result was, Khabin didn’t spend too much time pondering over it. In fact, if he did ponder, he did so across the town in the midst of the noisy neighbors i.e., Manchester City.
Turns out, the year before, he was supporting Liverpool in their Champions League campaign. So, needless to say, the Dagestani fighter doesn’t care too much about rivalries and such. He just loves soccer.
