Al Nassr CEO: Ronaldo doesn’t control the club

Al Nassr CEO Guido Fienga has said Cristiano Ronaldo “doesn’t control the club” but stressed the important role the Portugal captain plays in the team.

The comments come following suggestions that Ronaldo holds a lot of influence at the club regarding on and off-field decisions.

On Wednesday, Al Nassr sacked Portuguese coach Luis Castro after just one win in three league games and replaced him with Italian manager Stefano Pioli.

At a club event on Wednesday, Fienga said: “Cristiano Ronaldo is our captain and he is the strongest player in the world not just technically but how he behaves.

“Cristiano Ronaldo doesn’t control the club but obviously, being the No. 1 in the world, he gives the direction of where we have to go and which are the targets we have to reach. He is a winner and we ask him to teach us how to win.”

Ronaldo, 39, has won just one title, the Arab Club Champions Cup, since joining Al Nassr in December 2022 from Manchester United.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has scored 62 goals for Al Nassr and his thirst for success at the club was evidenced by his tears after their King’s Cup final loss to Al Hilal in May saw them end the season trophyless.

“He is a winner and we ask him to teach us how to win,” Fienga said of the former Real Madrid star.

“We want to win with him this year and reach the best target that we can. Cristiano is part of the team and we are very happy to have him in our team.”

Ronaldo missed Al Nassr’s 1-1 draw with Al Shorta in the revamped Asian Champions League on Monday with illness, in what turned out to be Castro’s last game in charge.

“Step by step we will improve,” Fienga said

“This summer don’t forget we invested almost $100 million in new players. I believe we did a good job in order to reinforce the club with some good players that we needed … we need to work and give stability to the club to work and to produce the value and not destroy the value every six months.”