Al-Nassr, Cristiano Ronaldo's club, announced this week that manager Rudi Garcia has resigned and that their under-19 boss, Dinko Jelicic has been hired to replace him. The Saudi side, who signed the five-time Ballon d'Or winner in a surprise deal in January, have seen their advantage at the top of Saudi Arabia's first league dwindle in recent weeks.
They are presently three points behind Al-Ittihad for first place in the league. The arrival of the Portuguese superstar hiked up the expectations in Riyadh. However, although Ronaldo has scored 11 goals in 10 league games for his new team, Al-Nassr have fallen from first place as a consequence.
Thus, Garcia had been in a losing battle to save his job at the Riyadh club. He also leaves amid rumors that he had a falling out with the veteran star. After the Knights of Najd's previous match, the forward reportedly rushed down the tunnel in protest of his manager's tactics.
What did Cristiano Ronaldo say of Rudi Garcia's departure from Al-Nassr?
After the news of Rudi Garcia's departure from Al-Nassr was announced, Cristiano Ronaldo conveyed his best wishes to the former manager. Despite all the rumors, the 38-year-old club captain has made it known that he is paying respect to his old boss by writing a short message practically quickly as the news was announced.
"Pleasure to have worked with you. Wishing you all the best for the future," he wrote in an Instagram story. Meanwhile, both Zinedine Zidane and Jose Mourinho, both formerly of Real Madrid's coaching staff, have been mentioned as possible candidates to replace Garcia in the long run.
