Aboubakar: Ronaldo tried to persuade me to stay

Stuart Telford

• 15 Feb 2023 22:49 GMT
• 3 min read

Vincent Aboubakar demanded to leave Al Nassr after Cristiano Ronaldo's arrival, but the Portuguese superstar tried to persuade him to stay.

Ronaldo completed a sensational move to Saudi Arabia in January, becoming the highest-paid footballer of all time in signing a €200 million a year contract.

The player was available on a free after his release by Manchester United in light of an unsanctioned interview with Piers Morgan in which he slammed the club's ownership and management.

READ: Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr: Goals, assists, results & fixtures

Most of Saudi Arabian football was ecstatic to see the five-time Ballon d'Or winner arrive, but Aboubakar, Al Nassr's incumbent No.9, had a different perspective.

'Ronaldo wanted me to stay'

"We talked a bit and his opinion was that he wanted me to stay," The Cameroon striker told Talents d'Afrique on Canal+. "I told him 'no', that I will leave for family reasons."

"He asked me where my family was, I told him they are in France and so I prefer to go to Turkey, it's closer. And he told me 'it's better, if your family is really far away, it's more complicated'. I was firm, I wanted to leave."

READ: Al Nassr star says Ronaldo 'makes games more difficult'

Aboubakar ultimately left for Besiktas, to replace Wout Weghorst, whom Man Utd had signed in Ronaldo's stead.

"I left a little angry because it was not easy," he added. "When Cristiano arrived, coach Rudi Garcia called me into his office and told me that normally an international player has to leave, it's either me or Jaloliddin Masharipov [from Uzbekistan], either me or Pity.

"I told him that I already wanted to leave before and, honestly, as Cristiano was coming, my playing time would be reduced and it was better for me to leave."

Ronaldo has scored five goals in three Saudi Pro League games so far, which is already just three fewer than Aboubakar managed in the whole of last season.