Cristiano Ronaldo’s new club Al Nassr have parted company with French coach Rudi Garcia, the Saudi side announced on Thursday.
“Al Nassr can announce that head coach Rudi Garcia has left the club by mutual agreement,” they said in a statement on their English language Twitter feed.
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“The board and everyone at Al Nassr would like to thank Rudi and his staff for their dedicated work during the past eight months.” Garcia, 59, was appointed last July and leaves with Al Nassr second in the Saudi league, three points behind leaders Al Ittihad.
He has previously coached Lille, Marseille and Lyon in his homeland and also had two and a half years in charge of Roma in Italy.
Ronaldo, now 38, signed for the Riyadh-based side in December on a deal to June 2025 believed to be worth more than 400 million euros ($442m) in total, according to sources close to Al Nassr.
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He has so far scored 11 goals in 12 games for the club.
The decision to part way with Garcia came after a dour 0-0 draw against Al Feiha in Al Nassr’s last game.
Ronaldo was seen fuming in the aftermath, venting his frustrations at the opposition and even at his own teammates as he stormed off down the tunnel.
It wasn’t long before reports in Portugal popped up detailing Ronaldo’s frustrations with where the club was headed under Garcia, with Diaro AS claiming the superstar told the club’s hierarchy they play better with a different face in the dugout.