'I was sacked as Cristiano Ronaldo's manager – this is how I compare him to Lionel Messi'

Former Al Nassr head coach Luis Castro admitted that  Cristiano Ronaldo’s “constant desire” makes him the world’s best, above the likes of Lionel Messi. Castro touched down in Saudi Arabia in July 2023, brought in to replace the dismissed Rudi Garcia to command new headline act Ronaldo – whose own Pro League arrival came the prior January.

The 63-year-old started life well, lifting the Arab Club Champions Cup just a month into the job, but a King’s Cup final defeat to Al-Hilal and poor results to begin this latest campaign saw the head coach relieved of his duties.

However, while working alongside his compatriot Ronaldo, Castro formed a vivid image of what the superstar is truly like, and commended his work ethic, naming him ‘the best.’

“Cristiano was, is and will be determined to be the best,” Castro told Marca. “You can see it every day in every training session. He has a constant desire to play, to break records, to score the most beautiful goals.

“When you are close to him, you understand why he is a phenomenon. He continues to be decisive in everything he does. He knows that football has given him almost everything and he has great love for it.”

Under Castro, Ronaldo smashed the Saudi Pro League goalscoring record with his 35 league strikes last term and became the first man to win domestic Golden Boots in four different countries.

Last month, still firing at 39, Ronaldo notched his 900^th career goal during Portugal’s 2-1 Nations League win over Croatia, and Castro has backed him to hit the coveted thousand.

“Will he reach 1,000 goals? It won’t depend on him, but on the context,” Castro added. “We tried to get the most out of Cris, and we got him to finish 2023 as the top scorer of the year (54 goals). I hope he has a favourable environment around him and surpasses the 1,000-goal mark. Cristiano continues to be decisive.”

Castro was also hugely complimentary of the great Portuguese forward’s work ethic during his time in charge of Al-Nassr, adding in 2023: “He [Ronaldo] is the world’s greatest example of success in terms of rigour, work and discipline.

“Do you think he needs me to make demands of him? No. You don’t need to demand anything from Cristiano; he does it himself. He gives rigour, discipline, maximum demand, wanting to always win, wanting to shine before the world.”