Al Nassr star says Ronaldo 'makes games more difficult'

Stuart Telford

• 9 Feb 2023 09:43 CST
• 3 min read

Cristiano Ronaldo is barely a month into his blockbuster move to Saudi Arabia, but not everyone at new club Al Nassr is relishing his presence.

Ronaldo completed a much-publicised move to Al Nassr in January, a month after being released by Manchester United following an unsanctioned interview he gave to Piers Morgan in which he slated the club, its Glazer family ownership and manager Erik ten Hag.

Al Nassr's social media following and digital presence swelled to match some of Europe's biggest clubs following Ronaldo's €200 million-a-year deal, but things have been slightly slower to take off on the field of play.

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

Ronaldo scored a pair of goals for Riyadh Season Team XI against Lionel Messi's Paris Saint-Germain in his first outing in Saudi Arabia, but since donning his new club's colours he has only scored once - a 93rd-minute penalty to rescue a 2-2 draw at Al Fateh last Friday.

Ronaldo's Al Nassr teammate Luiz Gustavo - a Champions League winner with Bayern Munich in 2013 - thinks that other teams raise their game against Rudi Garcia's side now that they have the Portuguese superstar among their number.

'Ronaldo makes games more difficult'

"Ronaldo's presence makes the games more difficult for us," the Brazilian told Russian TV station RT Arabic. "Every team is looking to play against him in the best possible way, and he motivates everyone to do their best against him."

READ: Ronaldo gets blame for Al-Nassr loss as fans mock him with Messi chant

Gustavo, capped 41 times for Brazil between 2011 and 2016, joined Al Nassr on a free transfer from Fenerbahce last summer, reuniting with his former Marseille coach Garcia. Until Ronaldo the biggest name at the club, he is ultimately pleased to call the former Real Madrid star a teammate.

"His presence in the team gives the group a great advantage because we learn from him every day, given the great abilities he possesses, both technical and physical," he said. "He was created for challenges and always outperforms them."