Cristiano Ronaldo’s coach Jorge Jesus addresses transfer controversy involving Al Hilal and Al Nassr
In recent weeks, Cristiano Ronaldo has been under the spotlight not for his goals but for his controversial decision to miss two Al Nassr matches as a protest over the alleged disparity in support from the Public Investment Fund compared to Al Hilal. Now, coach Jorge Jesus has spoken on the matter.
“I’ve already been at Al Hilal. I’ve been on the other side, so I know what that’s like. They have more economic power,” Jorge Jesus recently said when asked about the topic, according to Goal. “When I was there, I benefited as a coach. It’s normal.”
The Portuguese coach worked at Al Hilal between July 2023 and May 2025. That means he oversaw the construction of the star-studded squad assembled in the summer of 2023, during the first major wave of Saudi Pro League signings following Cristiano Ronaldo’s arrival.
Stars such as Neymar, Bono, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Aleksander Mitrovic, Kalidou Koulibaly, Joao Cancelo, Ruben Neves, and Malcom were part of Al Hilal’s roster during that period, contributing in various degrees to the Saudi Pro League 2023-24 title, the King Cup 2023-24, and the Saudi Super Cup in 2023 and 2024.
Jorge Jesus confident about closing the gap between Al Nassr and Al Hilal
In the same conversation, the coach discussed how his perspective has changed now that Al Hilal are a rival. “Al-Nassr, with different resources, have to compete for the top spots. We have to continue to be strong,” Jesus said. “That’s why I was hired, to reduce the gap between Al Hilal and Al Nassr, in terms of titles and points. And that’s what we’re doing.”
From Jorge Jesus’ comments, it may sound as though Al Nassr are a modest club making enormous efforts to compete against far more powerful giants. But the reality is not quite that simple. In fact, they have the highest-paid player in the world, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Last summer, Al Nassr also signed three European stars: Inigo Martinez, a key center back for Barcelona; Kingsley Coman, a winger for Bayern Munich and the France national team; and Joao Felix, Ronaldo’s teammate on the Portugal national team. Combined with established stars already on the roster such as Marcelo Brozovic and Sadio Mane, those additions have made Al Nassr an extremely competitive side.
How the Saudi Pro League title race stands
Al Nassr opened the season in impressive fashion, winning 10 consecutive matches. However, a dip in form cost them the top spot in the Saudi Pro League to Al Hilal. The current leaders sit at the top with 53 points, one more than Cristiano Ronaldo’s team.
“We are in the championship fight, we are one point behind the leaders, something Al-Nassr hasn’t been able to do,” Jorge Jesus emphasized. “In recent years, Al-Nassr has finished 16 or 14 points behind the lead. This year we don’t want that to happen, I don’t know what will happen. We are confident that we can compete for the top spots until the end.”