Cristiano Ronaldo will leave Al Nassr soon, according to manager Rudi Garcia, so that he can end his career in Europe.
After giving a contentious interview to Piers Morgan in which he criticized the club’s facilities and claimed he had no respect for Erik ten Hag, the 38-year-old’s contract with Manchester United was terminated in November.
Ronaldo agreed to a record-breaking contract with the Saudi club Al Nassr, which will pay the forward an estimated £175 million annually.
The two-year contract would keep Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia past the age of 40 if he stays there, and the Portugal captain undoubtedly didn’t have many other options before joining the Suadi team.
Ronaldo’s manager in Riyadh, Garcia, a former manager of Roma, claims that Ronaldo will return to Europe before retiring.
‘Cristiano Ronaldo is a positive addition, as he helps to disperse defenders,’ Rudi Garcia confirmed.
‘He is one of the best players in the world. He will not finish his career at Al Nassr, he will return to Europe.’
In his two appearances for the team, Ronaldo has failed to score, and they were eliminated from the cup by rivals Al Ittihad last week in the semifinals.
Garcia advises Ronaldo’s new teammates not to become concentrated on handing him the ball and to avoid becoming intimidated by him.
‘Ronaldo missed a chance on goal that would have turned the game around in the first half but I congratulate Al Ittihad,’ Garcia continued.
‘They were much better than us until the break. So we reacted but we could no longer turn around. We lost the Super Cup but we are still first in the championship.”
‘It is very important that the players play normally and don’t always try to give Cristiano the ball.’
‘I told them they had to make the right decisions on the field. Obviously, when Cristiano or Talisca are alone and ask for the ball, we have to give them the ball.’
‘These two players are capable of making a difference. I think sometimes we had good crossing positions, but there were not enough people in the box, sometimes not Ronaldo or Talisca.’
‘We have to work on it, have one of them in the area and maybe the other will play outside the area.’
Cristiano Ronaldo
Portuguese professional footballer Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro GOIH ComM (born 5 February 1985) plays forward for Saudi Professional League club Al Nassr and captains Portugal’s national team.
Ronaldo is recognized as one of the best players of all time and has earned the most European player honors with four European Golden Shoes and five Ballon d’Or titles.
In his career, he has won 32 trophies, including the UEFA European Championship, the UEFA Nations League, five UEFA Champions Leagues, and seven league championships.
Ronaldo holds the records for the most appearances (183), goals (140), and assists (42) in the Champions League, as well as the most goals (118), international goals, and joint-most appearances (183) at the international level (196).
He is one of the select few athletes with over 1,100 career appearances in the professional sphere and over 800 senior-level goals for club and country.
He is the only player in FIFA World Cup history to have scored in all five tournaments.
Life In Saudi Arabian League for Ronaldo:
After his highly publicized departure from Manchester United, Ronaldo’s relocation to Saudi Arabia signaled the beginning of a new phase in his career.
Ronaldo has so far participated in two competitive games for Al Nassr without recording a goal or an assist.
When Al Nassr played a friendly match against Lionel Messi’s PSG earlier this month, he scored twice and was named man of the match.
Ronaldo: Matches played for Al-Nassr
Al-Nassr 1-0 Al-Ettifaq, January 22 – Saudi Pro League
- Minutes played: 90
- Goals: 0
- Assists: 0
Al-Ittihad 1-0 Al-Nassr, January 26 – Saudi Super Cup
- Minutes played: 90
- Goals: 0
- Assists: 0
Cristiano Ronaldo: Al-Nassr’s remaining fixtures in 2022-23
- Al-Fateh vs Al-Nassr, February 3 – Saudi Pro League
- Al-Wehda vs Al-Nassr, February 9 – Saudi Pro League
- Al-Nassr vs Al-Taawoun, February 17 – Saudi Pro League
- Damac vs Al-Nassr, February 25 – Saudi Pro League
- Al-Nassr vs Al-Batin, March 3 – Saudi Pro League
- Al-Ittihad vs Al-Nassr, March 9 – Saudi Pro League
- Al-Nassr vs Abha, March 14 – King Cup
- Al-Nassr vs Abha, March 18 – Saudi Pro League
- Al-Adalah vs Al-Nassr, April 4 – Saudi Pro League
- Al-Fayha vs Al-Nassr, April 9 – Saudi Pro League
