SUMMARY
- Coaches and players often underestimate the 39-year-old's abilities as Ronaldo has always backed his talk with his play.
- Jorge Jesus thought his team could easily beat CR7's side by three goals.
Cristiano Ronaldo has made a name for himself by silencing his opposition. Unlike other soccer players, the Portuguese captain lets his feet talk on the pitch. Many coaches and players have made the fatal mistake of challenging the 39-year-old’s abilities and authority. However, Cristiano Ronaldo with his elite brand of soccer has always managed to punish his belittlers.
Turki Al-Sheikh: “In my meeting with Jorge Jesus and Cristiano, Jesus said, ‘We will win against Al Nassr with 3 goals.” Cristiano responded by saying, “In the PlayStation, you will win by 3.” 😭 pic.twitter.com/xym37d9REx
— CristianoXtra (@CristianoXtra_) February 7, 2024
Turki Al-Sheikh, the Saudi adviser depicts one such incident. The 42-year-old revealed how Cristiano Ronaldo backfired on Jorge Jesus, the coach of Al-Hilal. The incident truly portrays CR7’s temperament and confidence as the Portuguese silenced the legendary coach with his daunting words.
Cristiano Ronaldo disses the Al-Hilal manager
Turki-Al-Sheikh discussed the interaction between the three at length. Reportedly, the adviser talked to Jorge Jesus and Cristiano Ronaldo about a match between Al-Nassr and its archnemesis Al-Hilal. The two giants have won the Saudi Pro League 27 times and are the two most marketed teams in the Middle Eastern country. That is why, the ‘Riyadh Derby’ between the two is one of utmost significance in Saudi Arabia.
Jorge Jesus, the coach of Al-Hilal tried to rile up Al-Nassr’s Cristiano Ronaldo before one such derby. The Portuguese coach seemed too confident in his players and believed that they could easily beat CR7’s team by a margin of three goals. According to Turki Al-Sheikh, the manager said, “We will win against Al Nassr with 3 goals.”
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JORGE JESUS (Al Hilal manager):
“Cristiano Ronaldo is a world-class player, and he has done a lot in his football career, professionalism in Saudi Arabia has become an important thing, and we must reflect a positive image of Saudi sports in front of Al Nassr.” pic.twitter.com/iamcRRGlvr
— The CR7 Timeline. (@TimelineCR7) February 7, 2024
However, instead of irritating the former Real Madrid player, Jorge’s comments only charged him up. Cristiano made an epic comeback and reportedly replied to Jorge Jesus, “In the PlayStation, you will win by 3.” CR7 does not believe that the Neymar Jr.-led Al-Hilal team has enough firepower to defeat his team. Al-Nassr defeated its rival in the final of the Arab Champions Cup 2023 2-1 with Cristiano scoring a famous brace.
However, despite the altercation, the Portuguese duo have tremendous respect for each other. Jorge Jesus has at times even publicly applauded the professionalism and work ethic of his fellow countrymen.
Turki Al-Sheikh’s mocking gesture against Lionel Messi caught everyone’s attention
The Argentine’s Inter Miami took on Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr in a match in the Riyadh Season Cup 2024. The match was branded as ‘The Last Dance’, or the final meeting between two of the best players to grace the soccer pitch ever. However, the match was nothing short of a nightmare for Lionel Messi, whose team lost by a whopping 6-0 margin on the night. An injured CR7 cheered his team from the stands as his club demolished their MLS visitors.
However, the show-stealer on the night was the Chairman of the General Authority for Entertainment, Turki Al-Sheikh. The Saudi Royal was in the stands when the camera panned from a frustrated-looking Lionel Messi to him. The Sheikh utilized this opportunity well and gestured the number ‘six’ with his fingers signifying the number of goals Messi’s Inter Miami had conceded in the match. Like Cristiano, the FIFA World Cup 2022 winner too was injured in the game and could only enter the pitch as a substitute in the 86th minute.
Turki Sheikh reaction to Messi substitution 😭
— CristianoXtra (@CristianoXtra_) February 1, 2024
Turki Al-Sheikh in recent years has made a lot of movements in the soccer world. He has owned two clubs in his life, the first being the Egyptian club Pyramids, which he owned from 2018 to 2019. The Saudi adviser is also the owner of the La Liga club UD Almeria.
While some of the fans have taken Turki’s gestures on a light note it also raises some serious questions. The questions target the impartiality of Saudi officials who are actively involving themselves in soccer a lot more than any other region in the world.
In such circumstances, soccer fans expect a respectful and chivalrous environment in the stadium. Moreover, Lionel Messi is an 8-time Ballon d’Or winner, and such gestures by a Sheikh would not go down with the Argentine’s fans.