‘Cristiano Ronaldo will end his career in Europe’, says Al Nassr coach who advises players not to ‘always try to give the ball to Cristiano’
Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr manager says his new star player will return to Europe to finish his career.
After mutually agreeing to the termination of his contract with Manchester United at the Qatar 2022 World Cup, Ronaldo joined Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr.
The move made the 38-year-old the highest-paid player in world football with a reported salary of £173m-a-year, but the Middle East was down sharply from its Champions League highs.
Ronaldo is the top scorer in the history of Europe’s elite competition and in footballing history, but a departure from the continent was seen as a major milestone.
Several reports claimed that super agent Jorge Mendes had held talks with Bayern Munich and Chelsea over a move for his client, but no deal was reached.
But now his manager at Al Nassr, former Ligue 1 winner Rudi Garcia, has suggested a return to the continent is still on the cards.
Speaking at his latest press conference, the former Lille, Marseille and Roma boss said: “Cristiano Ronaldo is a positive addition because he helps disperse defenders.
“He is one of the best players in the world. He will not end his career at Al Nassr, he will return to Europe.
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Ronaldo is yet to find the net for Al Nassr in two games, one in the league, a division in which his new side are top, and another in the cup, from which Al-Nassr was knocked out.
A 3-1 loss to Al Ittihad saw them exit in the semi-finals, and Garcia then offered some advice to Ronaldo.
“Cristiano Ronaldo missed a chance on goal that would have turned things around in the first half,” he said. “But I congratulate Al Ittihad.
“They were much better than us until the break. So we reacted but we couldn’t turn back. We lost the Super Cup but we are still first in the championship.
He continued: “It’s very important that the players play normally and don’t always try to give the ball to Cristiano.
“I told them they had to make the right decisions on the pitch. Obviously, when Cristiano or Talisca are alone and ask for the ball, you have to give them the ball.
“These two players are capable of making the difference. I think sometimes we had good crossing positions, but there weren’t enough people in the box, sometimes not Ronaldo or Talisca.
“We have to work on it, get one in the zone and maybe the other one will play outside the zone.”
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