“Because we will compete in many competitions” – Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr coach Luis Castro confirms request to sign new foreign player
After their 1-0 victory over Al-Shorta in the Arab Club Champions Cup via a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty, Al-Nassr manager Luis Castro confirmed to the media that he has asked the club to sign another centre-back.
Ronaldo fired home a penalty in the 75th to secure Al-Nassr's passage to the final. He will be hoping to win his first piece of silverware with the club in the Arab Club Champions Cup final on Saturday.
The dugout was understandably elevated, and manager Luis Castro showered some much-deserved praise on his team.
Talking to the press after the match, the 61-year-old coach also shed some light on Al-Nassr's transfer business. In particular, Castro stated that he has asked the club for the signing of another foreign centre-back. He said:
"I asked the club for another foreign centre-back, because we will compete in many competitions."
This statement comes after Al-Nassr failed to secure any silverware in the 2022-23 season, despite adding Cristiano Ronaldo to their ranks in January 2023. The Saudi team faltered in the semi-final stages of both the King's Cup as well as the Saudi Super Cup, losing to Al-Wehda and Al-Ittihad respectively. Furthermore, Al-Nassr also fell short in the Saudi Pro League, losing the title to Al-Ittihad by a margin of five points.
Nevertheless, Cristiano Ronaldo's presence at the club has raised fans' expectations, and the entire footballing world expects him to win his first trophy in the Middle East sooner rather than later.
In the upcoming season, Al-Nassr will have their fingers in several pies. They are slated to take part in as many as three major competitions apart from their domestic league. Ronaldo is expected to make his debut in the AFC Champions League, with a play-off match scheduled later this month.
Several high-progile names have joined Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr this summer
With ambitions of taking the club to newer heights, Luis Castro has begun his quest to assemble a star-studded squad for this season. The club have already confirmed the signings of Alex Telles (from Manchester United), Seko Fofana (from Lens), and Marcelo Brozovic (from Inter Milan).
If that wasn't sufficient evidence of the star power of the Portuguese forward, Al-Nassr were also successful in acquiring the signature of Sadio Mane from Bayern Munich. With rumors surfacing about potential moves for Clement Lenglet and Eric Bailly, Castro might just get his wish in the coming days.
Al-Nassr will face Al-Hilal in the Arab Club Champions Cup final on Saturday.