By joking as he told reporters he wanted to sign Lionel Messi first following his World Cup heroics, Cristiano Ronaldo’s new coach ran the risk of offending the star.
Rudi Garcia, the head of Al-Nassr, was questioned over Ronaldo’s entrance in Saudi Arabia on a staggering £175 million per year contract.
“First I tried to take Messi,” Garcia said at a press conference days after Ronaldo had signed a lucrative deal with the Saudi Arabian club.
Being compared to the Argentine would not make Ronaldo very happy, but let’s hope there isn’t too much conflict when he comes at Al-Nassr in the coming days.
On Friday, the Portuguese forward was introduced while clutching the yellow and blue shirt of Al-Nassr, which features his distinctive No. 7 on the back.
Since his contract with Manchester United was mutually terminated following his controversial chat with Piers Morgan, he had been an unrestricted free agent.
Formerly of Roma, Marseille, and Lyon, French coach Garcia took charge of Al-Nassr in June.
Al Nassr coach, Rudi Garcia, asked about Ronaldo before the official announcement: "I wanted to bring Messi from Doha."
— The Football Index 🎙 ⚽ (@TheFootballInd) December 31, 2022