Ronaldo’s Al Nassr fires coach Castro

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Saudi club Al Nassr announced the departure of Portuguese coach Luis Castro on Tuesday, a day after starting their AFC Champions League Elite campaign with a disappointing draw. Monday’s 1-1 stalemate with Iraq’s Al Shorta in the Asian competition compounded a slow start to the domestic season with the current contract of Ronaldo, 39, due to expire next summer. “Al Nassr can announce that head coach Luis Castro has left the club,” said a statement posted on X. “Everyone at Al Nassr would like to thank Luis and his staff for their dedicated work during the past 14 months, wishing them the best of luck for the future.” Castro, 63, is the third coach to depart Al Nassr since Ronaldo’s groundbreaking arrival in early 2023 on a contract that was said to net him 400 million euros over two-and-a-half years. Frenchman Rudi Garcia quickly left that April, followed by a brief stint by Croatian coach Dinko Jelicic before Castro was appointed in July last year. The highly decorated Ronaldo is yet to win a Saudi trophy with the Riyadh club, with his sole silverware so far being last year’s Arab Club Champions Cup. Al Nassr, who finished a distant second in the last Saudi Pro League season, have drawn twice in three matches at the start of the new campaign. Ronaldo’s arrival heralded a rash of high-profile signings by Saudi clubs last year, with Neymar and Karim Benzema among those opting for the oil-rich, conservative kingdom.

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CR7 celebrates one billion social media followers

Cristiano Ronaldo on Thursday thanked his supporters after reaching the milestone of one billion social media followers across all platforms. The Al Nassr captain has 638 million followers on Instagram, 170m on Facebook and 113m on X, previously known as Twitter. The 39-year-old recently launched his YouTube channel, “UR · Ronaldo,” that became the fastest channel to hit 1m subscribers on the platform and has now reached over 60m. “We’ve made history — 1 BILLION followers! This is more than just a number — it’s a testament to our shared passion, drive, and love for the game and beyond,” Ronaldo wrote on Instagram. “From the streets of Madeira to the biggest stages in the world, I’ve always played for my family and for you, and now 1 billion of us stand together. “You’ve been with me every step of the way, through all the highs and the lows. This journey is our journey, and together, we’ve shown that there are no limits to what we can achieve. Thank you for believing in me, for your support, and for being part of my life.” Ronaldo, who earlier this month became became the first men’s player in history to score 900 goals in official matches, is not wanting to slow down. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner added: “The best is yet to come, and we’ll keep pushing, winning, and making history together.”

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