Al-Nassr coach wants Ronaldo to 'rediscover pleasure of playing' / Photo: © AFP
-
Brewers rout Rays to reach brink of World Series sweep
-
Kuwait padel chief hails national showing at Premier Padel Major
-
Mbappe dropped by Chinese brands for 'offending national sentiments'
-
Britain prepares constrained budget as debt and defence pressures mount
-
Kuwait exhibition presents Ukraine’s Islamic heritage and cultural ties
-
Valkyries beat Dream to reach brink of WNBA title
-
Tech firms track Wall St rally on mixed day for Asian markets
-
Benjamin Netanyahu: Israel's longest-serving PM fighting for survival
-
Jay-Z to perform at Super Bowl LXI halftime show: NFL
-
Kuwait receives invitation to 2026 UN Water Conference in Abu Dhabi
-
Climate-threatened Fijian utopia rejects calls to relocate
-
Arab World Institute president outlines plans for stronger Kuwait-France cultural links
-
Israel to give verdict on Netanyahu in pivotal election
-
Bolsonaro's party says it recognizes Lula's election win in Brazil
-
$1m bounties, dawn arrests: Trump presses voter fraud campaign
-
Meghan on TV menu for 'Junior MasterChef Australia'
-
Gasping for air: Borneo residents struggle as island burns
-
South Korea's chip boom fuels forecast-beating third-quarter growth
-
Doha exhibition charts a millennium of Chinese maritime ceramics trade
-
US-brokered truce begins in Ukraine city occupied by Russia
-
New Zealand ex-PM Ardern to teach leadership in Sydney
-
Qatar launches Fashion and Crafts Council to connect talent with global markets
-
Ballon d'Or 'beyond wildest dreams' but Kane has plenty more to prove
-
Jordan strikes militant groups in Syria after church attack
-
No envy, no secrets: How Spain's Gipuzkoa became football coaching hotbed
-
FIA chief praises Middle East motorsport volunteers and officials
-
South Korea economy grows three times faster than expected in Q3
-
Australia warns of 'unprecedented' AI threat
-
Al-Thawadi urges technology to deepen human connection through shared experiences
-
Qatar Amir arrives in Moscow for eighth GECF summit
-
Ballon d'Or: Harry Kane's crowning moment
-
Kane beats Yamal and Mbappe to taste Ballon d'Or glory
-
Harry Kane wins men's Ballon d'Or
-
Ballon d'Or crowns Putellas's return to top of women's game
-
Lula win rattles Brazil markets over spending spree fears
-
Godts stars as PSG beat Lyon to go top of Ligue 1
-
De la Fuente wins men's Ballon d'Or coach of year
-
NBA inks deal with Kalshi and Polymarket, citing safeguards
-
Trump slams 'rigged' Brazil election after ally loses to leftist Lula
-
US rapper Macklemore launches 'Free Palestine Tour' after Ed Sheeran fallout
-
Nadal returns for Vegas hardcourt event
-
Venezuela leader criticizes Machado over dramatic return from exile
-
Fainga'anuku named as loose forward for All Blacks northern tour
-
Brazil markets battered after Lula win, AI in focus elsewhere
-
Anthropic points to AI dangers, soaring sales in IPO filing
-
Lula savors Brazil win as Bolsonaro rejects result, markets tumble
-
Sinner to play rescheduled Saudi Six Kings in December
-
Canadian youths ask court to impose binding climate protections
-
Brazilian lawmaker Andre Janones, Lula's social media 'general'
-
Walter Koenig, who played original Chekov on 'Star Trek,' dies at 90
Al-Nassr coach wants Ronaldo to 'rediscover pleasure of playing'
Al-Nassr coach Rudi Garcia hopes that Cristiano Ronaldo will "rediscover the pleasure of playing" when he brings a little stardust to the Saudi Arabian league.
"The only thing I wish for Ronaldo is that he rediscovers the pleasure of playing and smiles again because in recent months between Manchester United, the national team and then at a personal level he hasn't had easy moments," Garcia said Sunday on the sidelines of the Dakar Rally being staged 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, has penned a contract until 2025 with the Saudi club in a deal worth a reported 200 million euros.
The former Juventus and Real Madrid star arrived in Saudi Arabia having had his contract at Manchester United ripped up after a bitter divorce.
He had also seen his dream of an elusive World Cup triumph end in the quarter-finals in neighbouring Qatar last month.
Ronaldo's arrival at Al-Nassr, a club founded in 1955, reignited claims that the Saudis were again involved in "sportswashing", the term used to deflect attention from the kingdom's human rights record.
M.Furrer--BTB
