Ange Postecoglou says Cristiano Ronaldo has returned to Al-Nassr in good physical and mental condition, but the Australian manager has declined to comment on the forward’s recent dispute with Portugal head coach Jorge Jesus.
Ronaldo left Portugal’s training camp in Denmark last week after a disagreement with Jesus over his involvement in the team’s Nations League match against Norway in the second round of the competition.
Speaking at a news conference before Al-Nassr’s match against Al-Diriyah on Friday, Postecoglou said Ronaldo had moved on from the incident and was focused on his club responsibilities.
“Ronaldo has returned in good condition and is ready mentally and physically, and that is the most important thing,” he said, in comments reported by Saudi newspaper Al-Riyadiyah.
Postecoglou added that his experience as an international manager had influenced his decision not to discuss the events involving the Portugal national team.
“As for the national team and the incident, I was a national-team coach and I hated it when club managers commented on what happened with national teams,” he said.
“Ronaldo gave us everything, and his morale is very high. Now I am his manager at Al-Nassr, and he is an addition to our team. I do not like talking about what happened with his national team.”
The fixture against Al-Diriyah will be played at Al-Awwal Park on Friday as part of the eighth round of the Roshn Saudi League. Al-Nassr, who won the previous edition, are third in the table with 16 points.
They are two points behind leaders Al-Hilal and one point behind second-placed Al-Ittihad.
Postecoglou congratulates Saudi Arabia
Postecoglou also congratulated Saudi Arabia after the national team won the 27th edition of the Arabian Gulf Cup, known as Gulf 27.
“Congratulations to the Saudi national team, the players and the technical and administrative staff,” he said. “It is very important to win this tournament.”
The Al-Nassr manager was also pleased with the preparation his squad completed during the international break. The team had two weeks to train, although its international players were away on duty with their national sides.
“We had another two weeks of preparation,” Postecoglou said. “It was a longer period than usual, despite not having the international players.”
