Al-Nassr assistant coach Stephane Jobard believes new signing Cristiano Ronaldo has made an excellent first impression in training.
After leaving Manchester United in November, Ronaldo joined Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League. He agreed to a two-and-a-half-year contract earning an estimated €200 million yearly.
The presence of Ronaldo and his family has drawn international attention to the Saudi Arabian league and Al-Nassr. Many are curious to see how this move works out for both player and club after he dropped down the pecking order and caused drama behind the scenes with the Red Devils.
According to Jobard, the initial reactions have been encouraging. After a few training sessions with the five-time Ballon d'Or winner, Jobard discovered him to be humble and ready to get started on the field.
“In training, Cristiano Ronaldo made a mistake, and I told him that it was only necessary to touch the ball,” Jobard was quoted by Sportskeeda as saying.
“He pointed with his thumb up and said: ‘Well, coach..’ and I felt that this humble man wanted to perform on the field.”
Jobard continued, “In training, I passed a ball to the legend Cristiano Ronaldo, and he scored it, then I came to him and thanked him for scoring, and I can tell my children about this.”
Ronaldo, 37, is yet to debut for his new club Al-Nassr. The Al-Nassr next match is scheduled for tomorrow as they go head-to-head against Al Shabab, and hopefully, fans will get to see the Portuguese superstar mark his debut for the team in their local league.
Rudi Garcia, the coach of Al-Nassr, recently organized an exhibition game between the club's first and youth teams. The former won 2-0, with Ronaldo scoring one of the goals.
Ronaldo Al-Nassr is said to take on Paris Saint-Germain in a friendly on January 19 and the Portuguese superstar marks his debut for the club.
'I wanted Messi first!' - Ronaldo's transfer to Al-Nassr prompts a hilarious reaction from head coach Garcia.
In response to Cristiano Ronaldo's signing to Al-Nassr, Al-Nassr manager Rudi Garcia joked about wanting to sign Lionel Messi.
On Friday, Al-Nassr confirmed a deal for Ronaldo after the 37-year-old signed a hefty two-year contract with the Saudi club to make him the highest-paid player in history. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner also became the most high-profile player to grace Asian football. Still, Al-Nassr head coach Garcia quipped that he wanted to bring in PSG sensation Messi first after Argentina's World Cup-winning exploits.
During a press conference, Garcia said, reacting to confirmation of Ronaldo's transfer to Al-Nassr, "First, I wanted to bring Messi from Doha. I tried to bring Messi directly from Doha."
Despite being associated with Real Madrid for the previous two months, the Portuguese international is said to have waited for Real Madrid after leaving Manchester United by mutual consent in November. Ronaldo had been exercising with the Spanish giants to stay fit over the holidays, but they showed no interest in re-signing him, prompting him to accept Al- Nassr’s offer.