New Al Nassr manager Jorge Jesus: Without Cristiano Ronaldo, I would not be here

Al Nassr have confirmed the appointment of Jorge Jesus as manager less than three months after the Portuguese left their bitter Riyadh rivals Al Hilal.

Jesus has signed a one-year contract with the Saudi Pro League club and will be linking up with veteran attacker Cristiano Ronaldo, who agreed a two-year extension with Nassr in June.

And the 70-year has revealed that his countryman played a pivotal role in him becoming Nassr's new coach. "Without Cristiano Ronaldo, I certainly wouldn't be there," said Jesus.

"The motivation is high. Al Nassr needs to win titles, just like Cristiano Ronaldo, who has always won everything at the clubs he's played for.

"He hasn't won practically anything at this one yet, so I'll see if I can help him. We speak the same language, so it will be easy. I couldn't turn down the challenge Cristiano gave me.

"I love being in Saudi Arabia; it's the country of the future, in football and beyond. We're delighted to return. I've always been very happy. I've always won, and now I'm going to try to do it again."

He becomes the fifth Al Nassr coach since Ronaldo's arrival at the end of 2022 after Frenchman Rudi Garcia, Croatian Dinko Jelicic, countryman Luis Castro and Italy's Stefano Pioli.

Previous coach Pioli's brief spell in charge ended last month with the Italian heading back to Serie A to take over as Fiorentina manager.

Pioli, who was named Serie A coach of the year with AC Milan in 2022, could not guide Ronaldo and Nassr to the first major trophy of the Portuguese striker's spell in the kingdom and his reign lasted less than nine months after replacing Castro.

"Thanks for everything," Ronaldo wrote in a message on social media following the news of Pioli's exit.

The club would finish third in the SPL, 13 points behind champions Al Ittihad and five shy of second-placed Al Hilal, despite Ronaldo again finishing top of the scoring charts with 25 goals.

Al Nassr's AFC Champions League Elite dreams were ended by Kawasaki Frontale at the semi-final stage, with the Japanese side winning 3-2 in Jeddah. Kawasaki would go on to lose against Nassr's SPL rivals Al Ahli in the final.

Jesus, meanwhile, saw his second spell as Al Hilal coach come to an end after their reign as SPL champions was ended by Al Ittihad while they were knocked out of the Asian Champions League in the semi-finals 3-1 by eventual winners Al Ahli.

They did triumph in the Saudi Super Cup against Al Nassr, though, despite Ronaldo putting his team into an early lead as Hilal roared back with goals from Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Malcom either side of an Aleksandar Mitrovic double to seal a 4-1 battering.

The 2023-24 season had been a record-breaking one for Jesus and Hilal as they secured a fourth SLP title in five years, as well as embarking on a remarkable run of 34 consecutive victories across all competitions.

The streak was ended by UAE side Al Ain in the Asian Champions League last four with the Garden City club going on to win the competition.

Hilal also won the King's Cup that season, again beating Nassr in the final via a penalty shoot-out, a loss that left Ronaldo in tears after the match.

But Jesus could not repeat that success the following campaign and left Hilal by mutual consent, meaning he missed out on leading the team at the Fifa Club World Cup.

The veteran coach had been linked with the Brazil job before the Selecao appointed Carlo Ancelotti, but instead returns to Saudi Arabia with Al Nassr.

As well as Ronaldo, Jesus will have at his disposal the likes of former Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte, ex-Porto attacking midfielder Otavio and forward Sadio Mane, who won the Fifa Club World Cup and Uefa Champions League with Liverpool.

He has just lost the services of Colombian striker Jhon Duran who has moved to Turkish side Fenerbahce on a one-year loan.

Duran scored 12 goals in 18 games after moving from English side Aston Villa in February in a deal worth up to $80 million.