Cristiano Ronaldo has requested Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr to appoint Portuguese coach Luis Castro as the new head coach.
Recent reports suggest that the Portuguese manager is set to leave Brazilian club Botafogo to move to the Middle East.
The Saudi Pro League has been without a manager since April and Cristiano Ronaldo personally reached out to Castro to convince him to join the club.
Castro is reportedly going to sign a two-year contract with Al Nassr, with an option for a third year.
Luis Castro’s contract with Botafogo is set to expire by year-end and Al Nassr will pay €2.3 million as part of his release clause.
The Rio de Janeiro-based club released a statement in regard to Castro’s future, saying: “Regarding the media reports around coach Luis Castro, Botafogo informs that he has signed a contract with the club until March 2024.”
“Botafogo is preparing for an important match this Thursday, against Magallanes, for Conmebol Sudamericana, where the group first place is in play… Everyone is fully focused on tonight’s game.”
Castro, the ideal candidate that Cristiano Ronaldo pitched, became the coach of Botafogo in March 2022 after managing Qatari club Al-Duhail SC temporarily
The Portuguese manager has led the Brazilian side to 42 wins, 14 draws, and 23 losses in 79 games.
Castro-led Botafogo have won 10 league matches out of 12 games this season and they are currently in the lead of Brazil’s top flight, seven points ahead of Gremio.
Who Is Luis Castro?
Luís Manuel Ribeiro de Castro is a Portuguese football manager and former player who played as a right-back.
He was born on 3rd September, 1961 and is the current head coach of the Brazilian club Botafogo.
Castro played for Vitória de Guimarães and Elvas in the Primeira Liga but spent most of his career in the lower leagues.
In a managerial career of over a quarter of a century, he led four teams in his nation’s top flight including Porto, where he won the second tier with the reserve team in 2016.
Castro also won a Ukrainian Premier League title for Shakhtar Donetsk in 2020 and worked in Qatar and Brazil.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro GOIH ComM is a Portuguese international who was born on 5th February, 1985 and captains both the Saudi Arabia club Al Nassr and the Portugal national team.
The Portuguese international so far has won five Ballon d’Or awards and four European Golden Shoes, the most by a European player.
Ronaldo has won 32 trophies in his career, which includes seven league titles, five UEFA Champions Leagues, the UEFA European Championship and the UEFA Nations League.
His new team Al Nassr ended in the second place in the Saudi Pro League behind Al Ittihad who were crowned Champions.
That means that Ronaldo will not add to the seven league titles won in England, Spain and Italy over the course of his career.
Ronaldo-led Al Nassr were also knocked out of the Saudi Cup in the semifinals.
Cristiano Ronaldo on the pitch was very impressive for the Riyadh-based club as he bagged 14 goals in 16 league games.
But all these were not enough to land the Riyadh-based club a silverware despite having Cristiano Ronaldo as the team’s captain.
Will next season be better for Ronaldo and the new coach Castro? Tell us what you think in the comments.
