“I had no idea there were two teams” - Ex-LaLiga striker opens up on signing for wrong club in hope of facing Cristiano Ronaldo

Former LaLiga striker Thievy Bifouma recently opened up on how he signed for the wrong club in the hope of playing against Cristiano Ronaldo. The 32-year-old currently plays for Iranian club Esteghlal Khuzestan.

Bifouma previously played in Spain for Espanyol, Almeria, and Granada. He also had brief spells in the Premier League, Ligue 1, and Turkish Super Lig. The Congolese forward joined Esteghlal Khuzestan this summer from Greek club AE Kifisias following their relegation from the country's top flight.

He recently disclosed he decided to move to Iran as he wanted to face Cristiano Ronaldo in the AFC Champions League. There are two clubs named Esteghlal in the Iranian Persian Gulf Pro League: Esteghlal FC and Esteghlal Khuzestan.

The former are the most successful Esteghlal side with nine league titles, and they compete in the AFC Champions League alongside Ronaldo's Al-Nassr. Thus, when Bifouma received an offer from Esteghlal in the summer, he joined them hoping to face the Portuguese legend. But he signed for the wrong club.

Speaking to Tasnim News Agency (via Football Transfers), Bifouma said:

"I had the chance to play in Turkey, but my wife did not agree to move back there. I wish to play against Cristiano Ronaldo before I retire."

He continued:

"Considering that he is now in Asia and there was an opportunity for me to come to Iran, they talked to me about Esteghlal's offer and I reviewed the calendar of games and realised that they have a game against Al-Nassr.

"I said to myself that this is where I wanted to go. I had no idea there were two teams named Esteghlal in Iran," Bifouma added.

Ronaldo's Al-Nassr faced Esteghlal away in the AFC Champions League on October 22, defeating the Iranian outfit 1-0. The Portuguese ace captained his side in the clash but fired a blank.

Cristiano Ronaldo set to return to action against Al-Ittihad

Cristiano Ronaldo will be gearing up for Al-Nassr's league clash with Al-Ittihad on Friday, December 6. The 39-year-old was left out of the squad by manager Stefano Pioli in the side's AFC Champions League clash with Al-Sadd on Monday, December 2. The Knights of Najd lost 2-1 in Ronaldo's absence.

However, he is expected to return to the team for Friday's crunch clash with league leaders Al-Ittihad away at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium. Al-Nassr are third in the standings with 25 points from 12 games and trails Al-Ittihad by eight points.

Cristiano Ronaldo, meanwhile, has been in red-hot form in the Saudi Pro League. He has scored nine times and assisted two more in 11 games, including a brace against Damac in his last league appearance.