…Researched and contributed by Solomon Thomas.
Cristiano Ronaldo has appeared to debunk reports of a bad relationship with Rudi Garcia after the Al-Nassr boss was sacked.
Garcia received his marching orders from the Saudi club this week, citing behind-the-scenes issues as the primary reason for his dismissal.
Reports in Portugal had suggested that Ronaldo had grown frustrated with the direction of the club and felt a change of manager was needed.
However, Ronaldo posted an amicable goodbye message to Garcia on Instagram, uploading a picture of them shaking hands with the caption: “Pleasure to have worked with you.
Wishing you all the best for the future.”
Ronaldo has seen a number of his superiors depart under a dark cloud in recent years, including his former Portugal boss Fernando Santos and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer while he was at Manchester United.
Ronaldo has repeatedly made his dissatisfaction clear after poor results in the Middle East this year, as was an increasingly regular occurrence during his second stint at Old Trafford.
The football superstar has also stormed off the pitch following a 0-0 draw away at Al-Feiha last weekend, after having an angry exchange with one of the opposition players.
Garcia took aim at his players in his post-match media duties, which proved to be his final in charge.
He said: “The result is really bad, and we are not happy. I am not satisfied with the performance of the players.
I asked them to play at the same level as the last game (a 5-0 win over Al-Adalah), but that didn’t happen.”
While reports in Portugal had suggested that Ronaldo had grown frustrated with the direction of the club, his farewell message to Garcia appears to debunk those reports.
As a high-profile player, Ronaldo’s behaviour on and off the pitch is often scrutinised.
However, his professionalism in acknowledging Garcia’s departure suggests that any rumours of a rift between the two were unfounded.
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