“Al-Hilal had Mitrovic, Cancelo, Ruben Neves, Bono, Milinkovic-Savic” - Luis Castro on failing to win trophy with Cristiano Ronaldo-led Al-Nassr
Former head coach Luis Castro has opened up about being unable to win regular trophies with Al-Nassr and Cristiano Ronaldo. He took over the reins at the Saudi giants in July 2023, after Rudi Garcia was sacked. A month later, he led them to win the Arab Club Champions Cup.
However, that was the only trophy he ever won as manager of Al-Nassr. Last season, they failed to beat Al-Hilal to the Saudi Pro League title, finishing 14 points behind the champions. Their performances in cup competitions were also found wanting, with Nassr unable to get past Hilal in the Saudi Super Cup and the King Cup of Champions.
After leading the club to just one win in three games this season, Luis Castro was sacked in September 2024. Now, the manager has opened up about why he could not lead Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr to trophies. In an interview with Portuguese outlet Record, he said (via GOAL):
"It feels like things would have been different without Al-Hilal, but that's life. Real Madrid often don't achieve their goals because Barcelona exist and vice versa. A team doesn't stop being great just because they don't win at a certain point."
"Al-Hilal had Mitrovic, Cancelo, Ruben Neves, Bono, Milinkovic-Savic... They also broke the Guinness record for consecutive wins. But I have a clear conscience: we gave everything we had and managed to improve the team.”
Al-Nassr may have struggled under Luis Castro's leadership, but Cristiano Ronaldo thrived. The legendary Portuguese striker scored 44 goals and provided 13 assists across 45 games for the club. He also broke the record for the most goals in a Saudi Pro League season (35).
Al-Nassr superstar Cristiano Ronaldo fails to impress for Portugal; Roberto Martinez reacts
Cristiano Ronaldo failed to impress in Portugal's 0-0 bore draw in the Nations League against Scotland on October 15 at Hampden Park. While the Selecao did not look like conceding, they lacked the clinical edge to see off the game.
Ronaldo had four shots at goal, with only one on target. He also failed to do much else in other areas of the pitch, losing three duels. Speaking after the game, head coach Roberto Martinez felt that the team were missing a bit of magic in the final third. He told Record (via GOAL):
"A decision, a bit of magic in the box. We had a lot of desire, we worked very well without the ball. It was a dangerous game because we could have had possession, but Scotland doesn't need much to score a goal. We showed freshness, but we lacked freshness in the final third..."
Cristiano Ronaldo will not be pleased with his performance on the day, and will look to return to winning ways when Al-Nassr face Al-Shabab after the international break. Both sides will meet at the Al Shabab Club Stadium for their Saudi Pro League clash on October 18.