Rudi Garcia hopes Cristiano Ronaldo recaptures his love of game

• Cristiano Ronaldo will “rediscover the pleasure of playing”.
• The Portuguese international arrived in Saudi Arabia after his divorce.
• He signed a contract with the Saudi Arabian club.

Rudi Garcia, the coach of Al-Nassr, hopes that Cristiano Ronaldo will “rediscover the pleasure of playing” when he arrives in the Saudi Arabian league.

“The only thing I wish for Ronaldo is that he rediscovers the joy of playing and smiles again because he hasn’t had easy moments in recent months between Manchester United, the national team, and then at a personal level,” Garcia said on the sidelines of the Dakar Rally, which is being held in the kingdom.

“If he finds the pleasure of playing again, that will already be a goal achieved,” added the coach who described the 37-year-old Portuguese international as a “tremendous athlete”.

Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d’Or winner, signed a contract with the Saudi club through 2025 in a deal estimated to be worth 200 million euros.

The former Juventus and Real Madrid star arrived in Saudi Arabia after his contract with Manchester United was terminated following a bitter divorce.

Last month, he also saw his dream of winning the World Cup come to an end in the quarter-finals in neighbouring Qatar.

Ronaldo’s arrival at Al-Nassr, a club founded in 1955, reignited claims that Saudis were once again engaging in “sportswashing,” a term used to divert attention away from the kingdom’s human rights record.

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