Al-Hilal manager, Jorge Jesus, has said that Cristiano Ronaldo is not valued in his home country, Portugal.
Cristiano Ronaldo is entering his third season in the Saudi Pro League having joined Al Nassr from Manchester United in the summer of 2022.
Despite not winning any major trophy in the Middle East, the Portugal international has been exceptional, leading the goal chart and raising the fan base of the entire league.
Ronaldo has helped Al Nassr challenge for numerous trophies but have come up short in recent years due to the strength of local rivals Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad.
Jesus reckoned Portugal do not ‘value’ Cristiano Ronaldo for the worth and image he brings to the country, as much as Saudi Arabia.
The manager compared Portugal’s treatment of Ronaldo with how he is treated in Saudi Arabia, noting how the Middle Eastern country had put the Portuguese on billboards in cities six years ago.
Jesus, a Portuguese manager, told Channel 11, “We don’t have time to meet in [Saudi] Arabia. We were already friends in Portugal and I met him more often in Portugal than in Saudi Arabia. He’s a reference, the pride of the Portuguese.
“The first time I arrived here, they knew Ronaldo, not Portugal. The billboards in the middle of the city were just Ronaldo, and that was six years ago. In Portugal they don’t value him much for the image he brings.”
Since joining Al-Nassr in 2022, Ronaldo has been the face of the SPL since joining Al-Nassr in January 2023 .
He joined the club on a record two-and-a-half-year deal and became the highest paid sportsperson ever.
