Vincent Aboubakar has revealed Cristiano Ronaldo tried to encourage him to stay at Al-Nassr after the former Manchester United striker's move to the club.
Ronaldo's made the switch to the Saudi Arabian side at the end of December and his arrival meant that an international player would have to leave. Manager Rudi Garcia told the Cameroon striker that a transfer was between one of him or Jaloliddin Masharipov, with Aboubakar making it clear that he wanted an exit to be closer to his family.
Aboubakar, who returned to Turkish side Besiktas in January, had been a key player for Al-Nassr prior to Ronaldo's arrival, scoring 13 goals and providing six assists in 39 appearances. That said, Ronaldo has already shown what he will bring to his new side with five goals in his first three matches, including four in a 4-0 win over Al-Wehda last time out.
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In an interview with Talents d'Afrique on Canal+, via BBC Sport, Aboubakar claimed that despite Ronaldo's best efforts, his mind was already made up on his future.
He said: "We talked a bit and his [Cristiano's] opinion was that he wanted me to stay - I told him no, that I will leave for family reasons. He asked me where my family was, I told him they are in France and so I prefer to go to Turkey, it's closer. And he told me 'it's better, if your family is really far away, it's more complicated'. I was firm, I wanted to leave."
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