Cristiano Ronaldo doesn’t just want to be an ordinary player at Al-Nassr. Instead, CR7 has shown power in many aspects, including orienting senior personnel of the Saudi Pro League (SPL) team.

Last December, Ronaldo unexpectedly joined Al-Nassr under a contract with a record value of 200 million euros per year. In addition to showing his class on the pitch when he scored 14 goals in 19 games for the new team, the former MU striker also showed his huge influence. Ronaldo is the “bridge” to bring stars from Europe to the SPL, including the reigning Ballon d’Or, Karim Benzema, followed by N’Golo Kanté, Ruben Neves and Kalidou Koulibaly. Hakim Ziyech is also on his way to becoming Ronaldo’s teammate when he has agreed personal terms with Al-Nassr.

But if it’s just that, it’s still too normal for Ronaldo’s stature. To convince CR7 to agree to join, the Al-Nassr Board of Directors gave the 38-year-old superstar the right to interfere in the development direction of the club. In particular, Al-Nassr’s farewell to coach Rudi Garcia in April is said to have had the impact of Ronaldo. Not stopping there, also a hand Ronaldo “directed” to bring a new coach to the team.

According to journalist Bruno Andrade, Ronaldo called Luis Castro to invite the 61-year-old strategist to join Al-Nassr. Castro is CR7’s best friend in real life. He started his coaching career in 1998 and has played with many teams. Currently, Castro is having his second season with Botafogo in Brazil. Although he has not achieved many outstanding achievements, there is one trait of Castro that Ronaldo wants to bring back to Al-Nassr.

Ronaldo and Castro are very close

“The contract that the Al-Nassr side proposed is very heavy,” Andrade informed. “Castro will receive four times the salary of what is being received under a two-year contract until 2025. Ronaldo is the ambassador of Al-Nassr, he called Castro and expressed his desire to work together. Castro. is a coach inclined to restructure the club and that is the point that Ronaldo described to the Al-Nassr Board of Directors. Ronaldo affirmed that Castro is the “architect” model that will help plan the vision of the club in the development period such as: Al-Nassr”.

Castro arranged a meeting with Textor, the president of Botafogo, to inform the matter. According to Andrade, the initiative to meet the club’s leaders showed the final decision of Castro. “He’s still on the pitch training normal players today,” Andrade emphasized. “He is very calm and seems to have made the final decision. Castro will tell Textor everything before giving an official response to Al-Nassr. My feeling is that Castro will leave. Offer from China. Dong is too attractive, besides the opportunity to work with Ronaldo – the best Portuguese player in history.”

Al-Nassr obviously had a lot of money. But in terms of relations and position in the world football village, SPL representatives are nothing. Therefore, at this time, Al-Nassr wants to make the most of Ronaldo to expand his influence. From CR7’s side, he clearly does not want to pass up this opportunity to secure his No. 1 position in Al-Nassr. With another coach who is a compatriot, in the near future, many other familiar stars will arrive, Ronaldo will certainly not be alone in the Bay Area. This is good news for Ronaldo, the Al-Nassr side is also benefiting. But in the long run, this model of an individual being both a player and a… “chairman” is not good. It will cause deep division in the dressing room, something that was warned during CR7’s debut season at Al-Nassr.

Botafogo players and fans criticize Ronaldo for manipulating Castro

Luis Castro only joined Botafogo in 2022 but has quickly become loved by players and fans alike. Most players do not want Castro to leave. Botafogo fans also went on social media to criticize Ronaldo. One fan said: “Why Castro? Is there a shortage of coaches in the world?”. Another added: “Abandoning Botafogo to go to Ronaldo’s nursing home, Castro should not be foolish enough to nod.”