Cristiano Ronaldo has sent his well wishes to Rudi Garcia after the manager’s Al-Nassr exit was confirmed.
The Frenchman was appointed by the Saudi club less than a year ago, but on Thursday it was announced he would be leaving via a mutual agreement. “Al-Nassr can announce that Head Coach Rudi Garcia has left the Club by mutual agreement,” a statement reads.
“The board and everyone at Al-Nassr would like to thank Rudi and his staff for their dedicated work during the past eight months.”
Garcia leaves Al-Nassr with the title favourites in second place, despite the January arrival of Ronaldo. The 38-year-old signed a record breaking contract valued at £173million per year and has 11 goals in his first 10 Saudi Pro League games.
But even with that influx of talent, Ronaldo’s side have dropped from top spot, trailing Al-Ittihad by three points. Garcia departs after failing to win two of their last four league matches, including a disappointing stalemate with Al Feiha last time out.
Ronaldo vented his frustration following the drab 0-0 draw, ranting at both the opposition and his own team-mates. The Portuguese legend then stormed down the tunnel, leaving Garcia and his squad to leave the pitch without him.
Reports in Portugal then emerged that Ronaldo was dissatisfied with the direction of the club under the ex-Lyon boss. Diario AS claim he made his feelings clear behind the scenes, believing that with a different manager in the dugout they could play to a higher level.
However, publicly at least, Ronaldo has paid tribute to his former boss, taking to social media almost immediately after the news was confirmed: “Pleasure to have worked with you. Wishing you all the best for the future.”
His public farewell marks a different tactic to the one he deployed in the wake of Fernando Santos’ sacking as Portugal boss after the World Cup. Ronaldo won the European Championship alongside the veteran boss, but the pair endured a difficult final major tournament together.
Santos opted to drop Portugal's record scorer from the starting line-up in the knockout stages, with his partner Georgina Rodriguez aiming an angry blast after their elimination vs Morocco. Rumours of a rift were denied, but Ronaldo decided not to join many of his international colleagues in thanking him for his time in charge of the national team.
He also went public with his gratitude for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after he was sacked just weeks after his Manchester United return. "He's been my striker when I first came to Old Trafford and he's been my coach since I came back to Man United,” he said at the time.
"But most of all, Ole is an outstanding human being. I wish him the best in whatever his life has reserved for him. Good luck my friend, you deserve it."
In an explosive interview with Piers Morgan, Ronaldo admitted that he thought Solskjaer deserved more time at Old Trafford. His relationship with his predecessor Erik ten Hag was significantly less cordial however, claiming he disrespected him before his sensational exit saw him move to Saudi Arabia at the start of this year.
