Cristiano Ronaldo has reportedly demanded Al Nassr sign one of his former Manchester United and Real Madrid teammates
It has been just over a year since Ronaldo ditched European football by announcing his move to Saudi Arabia.
On the back of his second stint with United, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner decided to sign for Saudi Professional League club Al Nassr.
Since then, a lot of big-name players from Europe have also moved to the Middle East.
Now, it has been reported that Ronaldo would like Al Nassr to sign one of his former teammates.
According to French news outlet Foot Mercato, Ronaldo has told Al Nassr to do whatever they can to bring midfielder Casemiro to the Saudi Professional League.
The pair enjoyed successful years playing for Madrid before reuniting in Manchester two years ago.
It has been claimed that Casemiro could be tempted by a move to Saudi Arabia.
Since joining United from Madrid, Casemiro became an integral part of Erik ten Hag’s team.
However, the Brazilian struggled at the start of the 23/24 season, with United also finding it tough to get their campaign going.
It has been reported that Ten Hag still rates Casemiro highly and any moves this month could be difficult.
Towards the back end of the 22/23 season, Ten Hag spoke about the importance of Casemiro.
He said: “He’s a massive player. Such a good signing. He adapted so well to Premier League football. He missed many games, and we noticed that.
“When he’s not there, our game is different. You see how important he is in everything. This week, twice he’s scored. The first goal is always the most important of the game. He’s doing a massive job, and we’re really happy.”
The Red Devils will be back in action next weekend when they take on Newport County in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Towards the back end of the 22/23 season, Ten Hag spoke about the importance of Casemiro.
He said: “He’s a massive player. Such a good signing. He adapted so well to Premier League football. He missed many games, and we noticed that.
“When he’s not there, our game is different. You see how important he is in everything. This week, twice he’s scored. The first goal is always the most important of the game. He’s doing a massive job, and we’re really happy.”
The Red Devils will be back in action next weekend when they take on Newport County in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Cristiano Ronaldo has been mocked and call out over his goal celebration at the weekend, by a former Al Nassir star, amidst rumours he could leave the club already.
It has certainly been a mixed bag for Ronaldo since he swapped Manchester United for Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League at the beginning of the year.
He’s certainly had his moments of glory, scoring a brilliant free-kick last month and showing his selfless side, by allowing a teammate the chance to take a penalty to continue their pursuit of the league’s Golden Boot.
But in recent weeks, the praise has been turned into criticism and the highs, more often than not for the 38-year-old, have been turned into lows.
He was trolled by one of his club’s rivals recently, after going goalless in a game and exchanging some strong words at full time with one of their players.
Al Nassr’s manager, Rudi Garcia, was then sacked, as their chances of lifting the title soon faded, and Ronaldo was seen to be making an obscene gesture at the end of another game.
On the weekend, the five time Ballon d’Or winner at least got back in the scoring habit, as the team beat Al Read 4-0, with Ronaldo getting the opener.
However, his goal celebration has been ripped apart by Adrian Mierzejewski, who used to play for Al Nassr, with the Henan midfielder saying, “That moment when you lost the Supercup, you were eliminated in the semi-final of the King Cup of Champions, you lost the derby to Hilal which means no championship 99% but you scored against Al Raed and your team won 4-0.”
Ronaldo and his teammates were knocked out of the cup at the end of April by Al Wheda, another game the former United star failed to score in.
Their opponents were even down to 10 men for a majority of the second half, with the result all but ending the side’s chances of silverware this season.
There is just five games of the league campaign left, with the club three points behind top of the table Al Ittihad, who also have a game in hand.
All the bad news for Real Madrid’s all time top goalscorer comes when he is being linked with the exit door in the Middle East, just months after moving there.
According to one report, he is ready to leave Saudi Arabia and move back to Real, although it would be as an ambassador rather than in a playing role.
It would be a hell of a turnaround, just months after ending his time at the top of the game in Europe, but still only just over a year to go until Euro 2024.
Al Nassr teammate explains negative impact Cristiano Ronaldo has had on the team
One of Cristiano Ronaldo’s new Al Nassr teammates has explained why the forward’s arrival is yet to have the positive effect on the team expected.
No one would have thought that Ronaldo would have moved to Saudi Arabia after leaving Manchester United in November, not even him by the sounds of it.
And so far it’s not exactly played out the way the five time Ballon d’Or winner might have expected, despite his two goals in a friendly against PSG.
So far he’s only managed the one goal in three appearances for Al Nassr, scoring a late penalty in their 2-2 draw against Al Fateh.
That came after games in which he failed to score or assist against Ettifaq or Al Ittihad, the first in the league and the second in the cup.
Before his penalty in the third game, the 38-year-old had managed to miss two absolute sitters, the kind of chances you’d have expected him to bury every time.
However, new teammate Luis Gustavo doesn’t believe the forward’s problems are all his own making, and believes the sight of Ronaldo is making all their opponents play better.
“Certainly, the presence of Cristiano makes it difficult for us, as all teams seek to participate against him in the best possible way, and he gives motivation to everyone,” Gustavo told RT Arabic.
However, the former Bayern Munich midfielder does believe that the presence of Real Madrid’s all time top goalscorer is a benefit to the players, and the club.
“His presence at Al-Nassr gives a great advantage to the group because we learn from him everyday, given the great capabilities he possesses, both technically and physically,” Gustavo added.
“Cristiano Ronaldo was created for challenges and he always succeeds in them. And everyone here is waiting for what he will present.
“He has already scored his first goal and he therefore got rid of the pressure.”
The five time Champions League winner’s futute in the Middle East has already been brought into question by Al Nassr boss Rudi Garcia.
Garcia believes that Ronaldo’s future, and the end of his career, will be played out in Europe, despite the lack of clubs being interested in him after he left United.
Cristiano Ronaldo was fuming after Al Nassr lose to title rivals Al-Ittihad
A frustrated Cristiano Ronaldo stormed off the pitch after Al Nassr slipped up in the Saudi Pro League title race.
The 38-year-old forward, who scored eight goals in four games for Rudi Garcia’s side in February, was looking to add to his impressive tally in their crunch clash against Al-Ittihad on Thursday night.
So far, Ronaldo has suffered just one defeat in an Al Nassr jersey – a 3-1 loss to Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Super Cup.
And on Thursday night, the former Manchester United man fell to another defeat against their title rivals at the King Abdullah Sport City Stadium in Jeddah.
Ronaldo, who received a hostile welcome from Al-Ittihad fans as he led his team out, failed to convert in what was a tough test for the experience forward.
And after the full-time whistle, he made his feelings known by kicking a number of water bottles on the touchline before storming down the tunnel.
Footage soon emerged on social media, with fans picking up on his furious reaction after Al Nassr spurned the chance to go five points clear at the top of the Saudi Pro League.
Here is some footage from the King Abdullah Sport City Stadium on Thursday night.
Al-Ittihad, meanwhile, leapfrogged their title rivals into first place thanks to a goal from Brazilian forward Romarinho.
Ronaldo has taken the captaincy at his new club, and Al Nassr man Jaloliddin Masharipov recently explained how the squad reacted to the five-time Ballon d’Or winner being named captain straight from the off.
“It’d be a little strange if the rest of the players are captaining Ronaldo,” the Uzbekistan midfielder told Sports.ru.
“We expected it. Our former captain willingly handed over the armband [to Cristiano Ronaldo] without any problems. I think this is the best solution. It cannot be otherwise.”
Masharipov also refuted claims that Portugal’s all-time top scorer is getting special treatment and that other players were offered the same level of hospitality.
“When [Cristiano] Ronaldo arrived, many people spread rumours about my departure from the team, all kinds of false news came out,” the 29-year-old explained.
“Before Cristiano’s arrival, many people asked me, ‘Will you give him the No. 7?’ How can you not give it?! He is Cristiano Ronaldo!” Such players should always be respected! After giving my number, many people assumed that I would leave the team. I gave my number without any problem. There was no talk of leaving. Both the club and the coach wanted to see me in the team.
“I have a contract with the team. I only changed my number because Ronaldo came. This guy is one of the two best players in the world. There’s no need to talk much.”
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