Cristiano Ronaldo: Who will be CR7’s manager at Al-Nassr following blockbuster move to Saudi Arabia?
- Seb Sternik
- 30 December 2022
Cristiano Ronaldo has officially joined Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr following his sour exit from Manchester United.
The Portuguese international became a free agent in November after leaving the Red Devils as a result of his controversial interview with Piers Morgan.
The 37-year-old will now join Al-Nassr, with the forward expected to earn in the region of £175m per season.
The club are one of the most successful in Saudi Arabia, claiming a total of nine league titles. Their most recent domestic success came in 2018/19.
At the time of writing, Al-Nassr are second in the Saudi Professional League, with the campaign a third of the way through.
The Knights of Najd have picked up 23 points from their opening 10 games, racking up seven victories and suffering just one defeat.
Al Shabab are the current league leaders and hold a two-point advantage over Ronaldo's new club.
Who will manage Cristiano Ronaldo?
Rudi Garcia is the current manager at Al-Nassr after taking over from Miguel Russo in the summer.
The Frenchman has enjoyed a successful managerial career in his home country, famously taking Lille to the Ligue 1 title in 2010/11. Garcia also claimed the Coupe de France that season and helped to develop a young Eden Hazard.
Jobs with AS Roma, Marseille and Lyon followed, though Garcia has not been able to claim more silverware since his exploits with Lille.
In the last five years, the manager has suffered two major final defeats. Garcia lost the 2018 Europa League final with Marseille, as well as the 2020 Coupe de la Ligue final with Lyon.
The 58-year-old famously led Lyon to the Champions League semi-final during the 2019/20 campaign.
The French side progressed past the group stage before beating Juventus and Manchester City en route to the last four. Garcia's men were then beaten by eventual champions Bayern Munich.
Garcia is now focused on bringing silverware to Al-Nassr. The Frenchman will have Ronaldo at his disposal, though the forward has proved problematic for his last two managers.
Man United boss Erik ten Hag and former Portugal head coach Fernando Santos were both embroiled in controversy with the star striker.
Ronaldo hit out at the current United manager in his interview with Piers Morgan. Meanwhile, Santos faced criticism after benching the Portuguese captain for two knockout games at the 2022 World Cup.
