Rudi García, the coach who wanted Messi at Al Nassr and will lead Cristiano Ronaldo

Born in 1964, two years after the German cyclist Rudi Altig -from whom he inherited his name- won the Tour of Spain, and a descendant of Spanish emigrants who fled their country due to the Civil War; Rudi García is a hot-blooded man. Direct and frontal. Effusive too. That is more or less the profile of the technician who will direct Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Nassr in Saudi Arabiathe same coach who made a joke mentioning Messi when they asked him about ‘CR7’.

A lover of offensive football, a follower of the Spanish league and considered to coach Barcelona after the departure of Tata Martino in 2014, Rudi has been something of a backpacker. He directed in France, Italy and now he is in Arabia, the exotic football that seeks to exploit to become a power. Or whatever comes closest to it.

After a discreet career as a footballer -his knee and back were never with him-, at the age of 30 he made his debut as a coach at Corbeil-Essones, although his confirmation did not come until he took charge of Lille in 2008 and three years later he achieved a unexpected double. Hazard played on that team, chosen as the best in the championship at the age of 20.

“Winning, that is the objective of our work. But winning without playing well is not possible in the long term. If you make your team play well, you have a better chance of winning.”, has repeatedly assured. A philosophy that he has taken to the Middle East and that he will seek to share with Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the best soccer players of the time but who always prioritized winning before the road.

But beyond what they will do on the field of play, the coach was consulted in recent days about the incorporation of the Portuguese star. And his “welcome” was not expected by everyone. In fact, he made a joke that might not go down well with the former player of the Manchester Utd.

The revelation of Rudi García that Cristiano Ronaldo will not like

The arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo to the To the Nassr from Saudi Arabia is one of the big moves in the transfer market. rudi garciathe club’s Spanish coach, also stated that he even asked for the possibility of hiring Leo Messi before the Portuguese attacker.

“I wanted Messi first. I tried to bring it directly from Doha”, said the coach amid laughter about the ’10’ Argentine, whom he saw while playing the World Cup with the Argentine team. The Rosario ended up establishing himself in Qatar.

A joke that might not like Cristiano Ronaldo, but that has been a truth. According to the Spanish newspaper “Marca”, Al Nassr was willing to offer a contract to Leo Messiwho ends his relationship with Paris Saint-Germain At the end of the season, however, focused on the World Cup, the footballer’s entourage denied any possibility of sitting down to talk about it, in addition to the fact that the Argentine was not willing to play in the Arab league.

The man from Rosario was also announced as the star signing of David Beckham’s Inter Miami.

In the meantime, Cristiano Ronaldo prepares for what will be his landing in Saudi Arabia: “Eager to experience a new soccer league in a different country. I’m excited to join my peers and look for more success.”he assured in his first statements.

Messi vs. Christian, the final battle

Before the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo to Al Nassrthe Paris Saint-Germain arranged a friendly in Riyadh against a combination of Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr players. An all-star of the best teams in the country.

The meeting was scheduled for January 19, 2023 as part of the Parisians’ Qatar Winter Tour, which was previously postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although there is no confirmed schedule yet, everything seems to indicate that it will happen, since PSG has a space between date 19 (vs. Rennes on January 15) and date 20 (vs. Reims on January 29).

In this way, what was going to be another friendly, where the only attraction was going to be on the side of the Europeans, just took on great importance and the international media began to speculate on the possibility of a duel between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.