Cristiano Ronaldo stance on Rudi Garcia exit emerges as Al-Nassr boss leaves

13 April 2023 , 14:49

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Rudi Garcia has been dismissed by Al-Nassr (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Cristiano Ronaldo's club, Al-Nassr, have confirmed the exit of boss Rudi Garcia and his replacement, Dinko Jelicic.

Al-Nassr have seen their lead at the top of the Saudi Arabian top division slip away in recent weeks after Ronaldo completed a stunning move to the club in January. They currently languish three points off league leaders Al-Ittihad.

The arrival of the Portuguese superstar – in a world record deal worth £173million per year – hiked up the expectations in Riyadh. Ronaldo has netted 11 league goals in just 10 games for his new club but it has coincided with a decline in results as Al-Nassr lost top spot.

Last week, Ronaldo and his team-mates failed to break down a stubborn Al-Feiha outfit. Ronaldo was visibly agitated at the final whistle - and he was not shy in letting some of his opponents know about it as he left the field. Diario AS highlighted reports showing how Ronaldo also let his dissatisfaction with boss Garcia be known to the club.

That match saw the Portuguese forward storm off down the tunnel at full-time without hanging around to shake hands with opposition players, in a similar vein to his strop which saw him depart the World Cup after his nation’s quarter final loss to Morocco.

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However, Ronaldo has publicly paid tribute to his former boss, taking to social media almost immediately after the news was confirmed to write a shirt message: “Pleasure to have worked with you. Wishing you all the best for the future.”

Al-Nassr’s decline in results in recent weeks has now seen the departure of Garcia, whose appointment last summer was seen as somewhat of a coup for the club. He struggled to build a cohesive unit around Ronaldo and there were indications his relationship with the star was not strong.

Garcia was appointed Al-Nassr boss last year but results dipped in recent weeks (Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)

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Earlier this year, Garcia did not shy away from criticising his new talisman after Ronaldo missed a gilt-edged chance during the game. "One of the things that changed the course of the match was Cristiano's missed opportunity in the first half," the boss assessed after the game.

Garcia has an impressive managerial CV having previously coached Lille, Roma, Marseille and Lyon, before being appointed as Al-Nassr boss in June last year – seven months prior to Ronaldo’s arrival.

He has now been replaced by Jelicic, whose highest profile role was as Croatia Under-20 boss a decade ago. His most recent role was at Zagreb-based NK Kustosija, who play in the second tier of Croatian football.

Colin Millar