SUMMARY
- Luis Castro is the manager of Al-Nassr.
- The Portuguese was appointed by Al-Nassr as their manager in July 2023.
Luis Castro, the manager of Al-Nassr, is confident about his team ahead of their highly anticipated clash with Inter Miami. The Portuguese manager has revealed the main star of the clash against the MLS club, Lionel Messi.
Al-Nassr is currently on a winter break as part of the soccer calendar of Saudi Arabia. The Riyadh-based club was last seen in competitive action back in December 2023. They are preparing to return to action in February 2024 with friendlies against Inter Miami and Al-Hilal as part of Riyadh Season 2024.
Luis Castro confirms that Cristiano Ronaldo will miss the clash against Inter Miami
Castro recently revealed Cristiano Ronaldo will miss the upcoming clash with Inter Miami. The Portuguese forward has been nursing a muscle complaint from which he still needs to recover. The news broke the hearts of the fans of Ronaldo who were excited to see the forward in action against Lionel Messi for probably the last time.
Castro has followed up with a bold statement in his recent press conference ahead of the clash. He has stated that the Saudi club is the real star of the clash: “Everywhere we go, we know there are a lot of fans who love this team. Our main star is Al-Nassr itself as a club.”
View this post on Instagram
Some section of the fans might take this as a shot at Cristiano Ronaldo. These comments can be taken as a bold statement from the manager to indicate that the Riyadh club can work and attract the same hype around their fixtures without Cristiano Ronaldo.
Luis Castro has a 79% win ratio with Al-Nassr
Luis Castro was appointed as the manager of the Al-Nassr at the start of the 2023/24 season. He replaced the caretaker manager, Dinko Jelicic, in the summer. Jelicic took over Rudi Garcia, who was sacked in April 2023. Castro was impressive during his spell in Brazil with Botafogo which earned him a two-year contract with the Saudi club.
Cristiano talking with Luis Castro in today’s training session 👀 pic.twitter.com/wvGzMohz0u
— Al Nassr Zone (@TheNassrZone) January 31, 2024
Castro has managed Al-Nassr for 29 games in all competitions. He has recorded an impressive win percentage of 79% with 23 wins and three draws. He has only tasted defeat on three occasions, two of which came at the start of the season in the league.
Al-Nassr is second in the league behind Al-Hilal. They are currently seven points behind the league leaders with 46 points in 19 games. The club will need Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Castro at their absolute best to mount a serious title charge in the second half of the season.