Cristiano Ronaldo plays influential role in Al-Nassr manager search

Cristiano Ronaldo has reportedly been firmly in the mix during Al-Nassr’s search for their next manager after recommending Portuguese boss Luis Castro. The 61-year-old looks set to take over at the Saudi Arabian club in the near future after Rudi Garcia’s departure and Al-Nassr work on finalising the deal to bring the 61-year-old in from Botafogo.

Castro has had an established career and has also managed in Portugal, Ukraine and Qatar during a managerial career that has spanned 26 years.

Reports in both France and Saudi Arabia suggest Ronaldo was heavily involved in the process and the veteran was adamant Castro was the right fit for the job.

The pair are believed to be full of admiration and respect for one another – despite never working together.

Back in 2020 when Castro was in charge of Shakhtar Donetsk, he questioned Real Madrid’s decision to let the forward depart for Juventus in 2018.

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Castro said: “When we talk about Real, it’s Karim Benzema, Luka Modric, Marco Asensio, Vinucius Jr, Sergio Ramos – a great team!

“When you have Cristiano you should never let him go. Never! We are talking about the best, the most effective footballer in the world, a working machine.”

Reports in Brazil suggest former Wolves boss Bruno Lage is being lined up for the Botafogo job as a replacement for Castro.

Lage was sacked by Wolves last year and has previously worked as the assistant manager of Sheffield Wednesday.

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It is currently unclear whether he’d be open to a move to Brazil but either way, it looks like Castro is headed for Al-Nassr.

Meanwhile, Al-Hilal are continuing to try and attract a big-name head coach to lead their exciting revolution.

Fulham boss Marco Silva has rejected two approaches from Al-Hilal this summer.

The club are also thought to have made a move for Jose Mourinho but he intends to remain with Roma.

Al-Nassr sacked new Napoli boss Rudi Garcia back in April following a string of poor performances.

There had also been talk of a rift between Garcia and Ronaldo before the club pulled the trigger on the Frenchman.

Croatian coach Dinko Jelicic has since steadied the ship but it looks as though change could be imminent at Al-Nassr.

Having landed Hakim Ziyech, the club are also close to bringing in Seko Fofana after he captained Lens to Champions League qualification in France last season.

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