
Saudi Pro League: Cristiano Ronaldo gets new Portuguese ally in bid to end title drought in Saudi Arabia - who is the new Al Nassr coach
Jorge Jesus has been named the new head coach of Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr, replacing Stefano Pioli. The Portuguese coach said he joined the team after an invitation from star man
Cristiano Ronaldo
.
'Without his invitation, I certainly wouldn't be there. The motivation will be great. I'm going to try to ensure that Al Nassr, which is one of the best clubs in Saudi Arabia, can win titles. Cristiano
Ronaldo
is a player who has always won everything he's played for. He hasn't won in Saudi Arabia yet. I'll see if I can help him,' Jesus told reporters, as quoted by IANS.
Jesus had earlier managed Al Nassr's rivals Al Hilal SFC for two seasons.
He left the club after their AFC Champions League Elite 2024/25 semi-final exit. However, he enjoyed success during his time there, winning the Saudi Pro League, King's Cup, and Saudi Super Cup in the 2023/24 season.
Cristiano Ronaldo on his Instagram story (Screengrab)
The 70-year-old has also coached major clubs like Benfica and Sporting CP in Portugal, and Flamengo in Brazil.
At Al Nassr, Jesus will work with Ronaldo, who recently extended his contract with the club until 2027. The Portuguese star welcomed the coach on social media, writing, 'Bem-vindo (Welcome), Mister Jorge Jesus,' on an Instagram Story.
Poll
Do you think Jorge Jesus will lead Al Nassr to win titles?
Yes, definitely
No, I don't think so.
Ronaldo joined Al Nassr in late 2022 after leaving Manchester United. He has been in excellent form, scoring 93 goals in 105 matches across competitions for the club, but it yet to win the Saudi Pro League.
Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Arsenal signs Swedish international Viktor Gyokeres
Arsenal on Saturday announced the signing of Swedish international striker Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting Lisbon. The 27-year-old, who fired Sporting to the Portuguese title last season with 39 goals and netted a Champions League hat-trick against Manchester City, is reported to have signed a five-year deal in a transfer worth £55 million (62.9m euros). This is where you need to be. Viktor Gyökeres is a Gunner ✊ Narrated by Kojey Radical 🎙️ — Arsenal (@Arsenal) July 26, 2025 Gyokeres' transfer, which could end up costing the north London club as much as £64m with performance-related add-ons, takes Arsenal's close-season spending to the region of £200m. He becomes Mikel Arteta's sixth summer signing and follows defender Cristhian Mosquera (£13m), midfielder Martin Zubimendi (£60m), goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga (£5m), midfielder Christian Norgaard (£10m) and forward Noni Madueke (£48.5m) in moving to the Emirates. Arsenal confirmed the news with a brief post on X which read: 'This is where you need to be. Viktor Gyokeres is a Gunner.' Gyokeres will be expected to meet up with his new team-mates in Arsenal's ongoing pre-season tour of Singapore and Hong Kong. The Gunners face Newcastle in the Singapore National Stadium on Sunday ahead of the concluding game of their tour, against Tottenham in Hong Kong on July 31. Gyokeres moved to Brighton from Swedish side Brommapojkarna in January 2018, but spent time on loan at St Pauli and then Swansea and Coventry, before making a permanent move to the Sky Blues in July 2021. After Coventry were beaten on penalties by Luton in the 2023 Championship final at Wembley, Gyokeres completed a £20.5m switch to Sporting. He scored a remarkable 97 goals in 102 matches for the Portuguese side. Arsenal spent the concluding months of last season without a recognised striker following long-term injuries to Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz. Even before then, Arsenal were in desperate need of a reliable scorer, and Arteta will hope his new signing can fire him to his first silverware since he won the FA Cup in 2020, and end the club's two-decade wait for a Premier League title. Arsenal's new sporting director, Andrea Berta has wasted little time in strengthening a squad which has finished runners-up in the league for the past three seasons. Gabriel and Myles Lewis-Skelly have also put pen to paper on new contracts in the off-season, with a long-term extension for teenager Ethan Nwaneri believed to be all but completed. Related Topics Arsenal / Viktor Gyokeres


India.com
2 hours ago
- India.com
New Zealand win Tri-Series in final-over thriller as South Africa live up to 'chokers' tag again
New Zealand beat South Africa. (PIC- IANS) New Delhi: A tri-series was being played between South Africa, New Zealand and Zimbabwe. In the final match, the South Africa and New Zealand teams were face to face. In the final match, Rassie van der Dussen won the toss and decided to bowl first. Taking advantage of this, the New Zealand team scored 180 runs at the loss of 5 wickets in 20 overs. In reply, the South Africa team could score only 177 runs and lost the final match by 3 runs. How was New Zealand's batting performance? After losing the toss, Tim Seifert played an innings of 30 runs for the Kiwi team who came to bat first. Supporting him, Devon Conway played an important innings of 47 runs. Rachin Ravindra, batting at number 3, also played an innings of 47 runs. In the end, Daryl Mitchell and Michael Bracewell also played short but important innings. Due to which the New Zealand team scored 180 runs by losing 5 wickets in 20 overs. For South Africa, Lungi Ngidi took 2 wickets, while Nandre Burger, Quena Mphaka and Muthusamy also took 1-1 wickets. What was South Africa's performance? Chasing the target, South Africa opener Luan-Dre Pretorius played an innings of 51 runs. Supporting him, Reeza Hendricks also scored an important 37 runs. George Linde and captain Rassie van der Dussen played very slow innings. Due to which, even Dewald Brevis's stormy 31 runs did not help South Africa in the end. In the last over, the African team could not even score 7 runs. Due to which the team had to face defeat by 3 runs. Matt Henry took 2 wickets for New Zealand. The African team lost the match, which was already won once again. In fact, this is why fans on social media have started calling them as 'chokers' again.


News18
4 hours ago
- News18
AC Milan Beat Liverpool 4-2 In Hong Kong Pre-Season Friendly
Last Updated: Rafael Leao opened the scoring for AC Milan while Noah Okafor struck twice while Loftus-Cheek once. Former Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek scored as Premier League champions Liverpool were defeated 4-2 by AC Milan on Saturday in a pre-season friendly in Hong Kong. Liverpool, featuring record signing Florian Wirtz in his first start, dominated much of the game under the closed roof at Kai Tak Stadium, but their shaky defence was exposed on the break, leading to all four Milan goals. Rafael Leao put the Italian side ahead in the 10th minute, and Dominik Szoboszlai's superb strike equalised 16 minutes later, making it 1-1 at half-time. However, goals from Loftus-Cheek and substitute Noah Okafor, along with Cody Gakpo's late header, secured victory for AC Milan. Liverpool manager Arne Slot acknowledged there were positives to take from the match but admitted his team needs improvement before their first competitive match, the Community Shield against Crystal Palace on August 10. 'I saw a few good things," he told reporters, referring to the first half when a predominantly first-choice Liverpool created numerous chances but only converted one. Slot made nine changes at the break, resulting in a makeshift defence that was repeatedly caught out. 'We wanted to give 20 players some playing time, so too many players didn't play in their own position. We were a bit too open. We must improve in certain areas because we were counter-attacked too much today." Loftus-Cheek, who has also played for Crystal Palace and Fulham, said it was special to score against Liverpool. 'It's nice to play against a Premier League team again," said Loftus-Cheek, whose team had lost 1-0 to Arsenal in a friendly on Wednesday. 'Liverpool are one of the best teams in the world. It was a good test for us tonight. It's just about feeling better physically, gelling as a team, and there's a lot for us to improve. So we'll take that and move on." Liverpool's Hong Kong fans vastly outnumbered those supporting AC Milan in the sellout crowd of 49,704. They paid a heartfelt tribute to Diogo Jota, who passed away this month in a car crash. Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish laid flowers in front of fans, who held up a mosaic spelling out 'DJ20" in honour of Jota's number 20 shirt, which has been retired by the club. Leao also remembered his fellow Portuguese player Jota, offering a silent prayer and forming the number 20 with his fingers after scoring the opener. Wirtz played 45 minutes and looked comfortable directing operations, showing hints of why Bayer Leverkusen were paid a reported British transfer record of $150 million for the German playmaker. Other new Liverpool signings, defenders Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, both came on as substitutes at half-time. Another defender, Joe Gomez, has flown home for treatment of a minor Achilles problem. Striker Hugo Ekitike, signed from Eintracht Frankfurt for a reported $92 million, was not ready to take part, having only flown in to join his new teammates two days earlier. Liverpool started without a recognised central striker as Darwin Nunez, who was injured, and Luis Diaz, linked with a move away from Anfield, were left out. Liverpool will now fly to Japan to face Yokohama F-Marinos on Wednesday. With AFP Inputs Location : Hong Kong First Published: July 26, 2025, 21:26 IST News sports » football AC Milan Beat Liverpool 4-2 In Hong Kong Pre-Season Friendly Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.