Ronaldo set for FOURTH manager in 18 months as Al-Nassr line up Pioli

Suraj Radia

• 17 Sept 2024 19:00 BST
• 3 min read

Cristiano Ronaldo is set to have his fourth manager since joining Al-Nassr after Luis Castro was sacked following 14 months in charge of the Saudi Pro League outfit.

Al-Nassr finished in 2nd place last season, 14 points behind title winners Al-Hilal, however Ronaldo’s side have only won one of their opening three games of the new campaign.

Former Milan boss Stefano Pioli is thought to already be in advanced talks to replace Castro after leaving his role with the Serie A side at the end of last season.

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The Italian was a frontrunner for the Al-Ittihad job in the summer but a deal could not be agreed, particularly with Pioli still being paid a reported salary of €4 million by Milan for another year.

Ronaldo posted a picture of him and Castro after the news of the sacking, with the caption reading: “Obrigado por tudo, Mister. Thank you for everything.”

Al-Nassr also released a statement thanking Castro for his work and wishing him luck for the future, with the 7th place side set to take on Steven Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq in their next game.

Ronaldo’s catalogue of coaches in Saudi Arabia

Castro took over Rudi Garcia in July last year and won 44 of his 62 games in charge, losing just seven, but closing the gap on Al-Hilal was always going to require a monumental effort after their unbeaten campaign where they only drew three times.

Garcia was manager as Ronaldo joined Al-Nassr at the start of 2023 but the Frenchman was sacked towards the end of the season after missing out on the title yet again.

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Croatian coach Dinko Jelicic replaced Garcia for the final eight games of the 2022/23 campaign before Castro was named permanent boss to become Ronaldo’s third manager at Al Nassr.

With Al-Ittihad and Al-Hilal still boasting a 100% start to the season, the pressure will likely be on Pioli now to bring Al-Nassr their first title since 2019, however the Italian will feel confident having won Serie A in 2022 with Milan.