Jorge Jesus, the new coach of Al-Nassr, has decided to exclude Cristiano Ronaldo from his first friendly match under his leadership, scheduled to be against Austrian club SK St. Johann in Tirol.
The Portuguese arrived a few hours ago at Al-Nassr’s training camp in Austria to prepare for the new season. He was expected to be available for the first match against St. Johann, but Jesus had other ideas.
Jesus preferred to exclude Ronaldo from this match, allowing him to undergo additional training with some of the players this evening, to ensure he is in the best possible condition before participating in the friendly matches.
Jesus also excluded a number of senior Al-Nassr players from the upcoming friendly, including Nawaf Al-Aqidi, Abdulelah Al-Amri, Nawaf Bushal, Salem Al-Najdi, Ali Al-Hassan, Ayman Yahya, and goalkeeper Mubarak Al-Boenain.
Al-Nassr is preparing for a number of intensive friendly matches over the next two weeks, including matches against Toulouse of France, Shabab Al-Ahli of the UAE, Sheffield United of England, and Almeria of Spain, during the Austrian camp, which will conclude in Portugal.
Ronaldo’s exclusion from the first friendly match is not expected to upset him, especially since the relationship between him and Jesus is very special and there is a great understanding between the two. He is aware that the Portuguese coach is working to prepare him and not overexert him throughout the upcoming season.
