Cristiano Ronaldo involved in hiring process as Al Nassr confirm Luis Castro as new head coach

Cristiano Ronaldo will play under a Portuguese manager next season.

Al Nassr confirmed the appointment of 61-year-old Luis Castro as their new head coach on Thursday afternoon.

Castro left his role at Brazilian Serie A side Botafogo that he'd been at since March 2022 in order to join the Saudi Pro League club.

On June 30, it was revealed he'd officially departed after accepting an offer from a 'foreign club', which has now been confirmed as Al Nassr.

According to sports broadcaster Ben Jacobs, Ronaldo - who joined the club in January following his dramatic departure from Manchester United - was heavily involved in the process, too.

Al Nassr have been without a permanent manager since April, when the club parted ways with coach Rudi Garcia, with Dinko Jelicic coming in as caretaker.

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Ronaldo later posted an Instagram story showing a photo of him and Garcia with the message: "Pleasure to have worked with you. Wishing you all the best for the future."

Now, though, Ronaldo's compatriot has taken the reins for the Saudi Pro League runners-up.

Castro is a former professional footballer, playing for Vitória de Guimarães and Elvas in the Primeira Liga during his career.

However he spent most of his time down in the lower leagues before later becoming a manager in 1998.

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Castro has stints at Porto and Shakhtar Donetsk on his long list of appointments on his CV from his 24-year-long managerial career.

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