Former Al-Nassr manager Rudi Garcia joked that he wanted to sign Lionel Messi over Cristiano Ronaldo, just a few days after the latter joined the Saudi club in 2023. Messi had just led Argentina to glory in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, while Ronaldo had his contract with Manchester United terminated mutually.
Ronaldo then joined Al-Nassr early in January 2023, putting pen to paper on a lucrative two-year contract that expires this summer. In the process, he became the highest-paid player in the country.
Speaking in a press conference after Ronaldo’s signing was confirmed, Garcia jokingly said (via GOAL):
Rudi Garcia’s comments didn’t really age well. Reports emerged a few months later that Ronaldo wasn’t happy with Garcia and pointed fingers at him for the poor run of form the club was going through.
Garcia’s time at Al-Nassr as manager came to an end on April 13, 2023. Meanwhile, Ronaldo has continued to remain an important player for the club. To date, he has scored 91 goals and provided 19 assists in 103 appearances across competitions for them.
In addition to Rudi Garcia, former Al Nassr assistant manager Emiliano Diaz also picked Lionel Messi over Cristiano Ronaldo. Diaz was an assistant manager at Al-Nassr from 2021 to 2022 and took the same role at Al-Hilal from 2022 to 2023.
A few months after Diaz had left the Saudi Pro League, he gave a scathing review of Ronaldo’s first six months at Al-Nassr and also spoke about his comparisons with his Argentine rival. On his comparisons with Messi, Diaz told Tyc Sports (via GOAL):
Emiliano Diaz was most recently the assistant manager of Brazilian side Corinthians.
An ardent Chelsea fan, Ezekiel’s journey as a football fan began in his childhood, witnessing Ronaldinho dazzle with his skills. His interest in the beautiful game deepened after Nigeria were knocked out of the 2010 FIFA World Cup; he was impressed with the Super Eagles’ fighting spirit in their 2-2 Group B draw against South Korea. Some other World Cup matches which have left a deep impact on him were Belgium’s incredible comeback against Japan in the round of 16 of the 2018 version and the 2022 final.
Lionel Messi is the one true GOAT for Ezekiel and he also follows the Major League Soccer and the Saudi Pro League owing to him and Cristiano Ronaldo. When not writing, he spends his free time deepening his SEO knowledge and watching skits.
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