The sporting director of Al Nassr, the Portuguese-Brazilian Marcelo Salazar, in reference to the possible signing of Cristiano Ronaldo, simply said that the Saudi club, for now, “will wait” and that “at the right time the future will be revealed”.
In an interview with Flashscore, Salazar stated that he is “not authorized to say yes or no” about Cristiano joining the side, as it is a negotiation of “enormous magnitude”.
“We will wait to see how things develop until the end of the year. As you must understand, this is a negotiation of enormous magnitude, not only for the club, but for the country and for world soccer, and it has to be carried out at a higher level,” he said.
The Al Nassr sporting director also heaped praise on Cristiano, whom he considers “one of the best in the history of soccer.”
“He was always an example for me as an athlete, for the will he shows to win. And then, as a Portuguese citizen, I always supported him. But at the right time the future will be revealed,” Salazar said.
He also addressed the criticism of the alleged low level of competition in the Saudi Arabian League, stating that “criticizing something you ignore is very easy”.
“I’ve been here for five years and all the players I’ve spoken to were very positively surprised when they arrived here, especially because of the level of the league,” which has a “high sporting level,” Salazar insisted.
In addition, Salazar added that: “living in Riyadh and with the families has been a pleasant surprise for the players, with the schools and everything we have here.”
Marcelo Salazar, 44, was born in Recife (Brazil) but became a Portuguese citizen. Before moving to the soccer scene, he had a long career in futsal.
On the field he was known as “Marcelinho” and went on to represent the Portuguese national team on 51 occasions and Spanish teams such as DKV Seguros Zaragoza, Gestesa Guadalajara and OID Talavera.
Cristiano Ronaldo, currently without a club after leaving Manchester United, has been linked with Al Nassr for several months and, according to reports in the Spanish press, a move is imminent.
However, when asked about it during the World Cup, he simply said that “it’s not true”.
