Al Nassr’s coach reveals a shocking truth: Was Cristiano Ronaldo right to strike?

Al Nassr’s coach Jorge Jesus acknowledges that his team needs to offset their “financial strength” deficit to defeat Al Hilal in the Saudi Pro League competition.

The strike by Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Nassr has ended, but its aftermath still lingers. Recently, Al Nassr’s coach Jorge Jesus revealed the truth about what Ronaldo has been deeply concerned about.

“I have been at Al Hilal before,” said coach Jorge Jesus. “I was on the opposite side, so I understand how it feels. I also benefited from that. Al Hilal has greater financial resources. When I was there as coach, I benefited from that as well. That’s normal. Al Nassr, with different resources, still has to compete at the top.”

At Al Hilal, Coach Jesus led the team to win the 2023/24 SPL, King Cup, and Saudi Arabia Super Cup. He joined Al Nassr last summer, making way for Simone Inzaghi to take over at Al Hilal.

“That’s why I was hired — to close the gap between Al Hilal and Al Nassr in terms of titles and points,” said the Portuguese coach. “And that’s what we are working on. We believe in Al Nassr’s structure, a framework that is gradually balancing the team.”

Ronaldo, 41, has yet to win a major title since joining Al Nassr in December 2022 after leaving Manchester United. He has claimed the Saudi Pro League top scorer award in the last two seasons and currently ranks second this season, trailing Ivan Toney of Al-Ahli by two goals.

On February 15, Ronaldo returned and scored a goal in Al Nassr’s 2-0 victory over Al Fateh. After scoring, he went to the corner flag and performed his signature “Siu” celebration, pointing to himself and then to the ground as a message affirming his commitment to stay with the club.

Ronaldo missed the previous two league matches, reportedly as a protest against Al Nassr not receiving financial backing from the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) during the latest transfer window, especially compared to rivals Al Hilal — who signed Karim Benzema, Ronaldo’s former Real Madrid teammate, from Al Ittihad.

Al Nassr currently sits second in the standings, just one point behind Al Hilal.

“We are competing for the title, only one point behind the leaders — something Al Nassr hasn’t achieved before,” said Coach Jesus.“In recent years, Al Nassr usually finished the season 14 or 16 points behind the top spot. This year, we believe we can fight among the leaders until the end of the season.”