Al Nassr announced Jesus' appointment on the evening of 14/7 with a one-year contract. That same day, the 70-year-old coach departed Lisbon for Riyadh. He was met by Portuguese media at Lisbon airport. When asked why he chose to manage Al Nassr despite recently working at rival club Al Hilal, Jesus said, "If it weren't for Ronaldo's invitation, I certainly wouldn't be managing Al Nassr. This is a huge motivation for me,".

Cristiano Ronaldo (left) and coach Jorge Jesus during the Real Madrid vs. Sporting match at Jose Alvalade Stadium, Lisbon, Portugal, on the evening of 22/11/2016. Photo: X/TeamCRonaldo

According to Jesus, Al Nassr should win more titles, partly thanks to Ronaldo. "Ronaldo has won every possible title with the clubs he's played for," Jesus added. "But he has hardly won any titles with Al Nassr, so I want to help him".

According to British media, Ronaldo became a shareholder of Al Nassr, holding a 15% stake worth approximately 45 million USD, after agreeing to a two-year contract extension. After a trophyless 2024-2025 season, Al Nassr dismissed its entire management team, including CEO Majed Al-Jamaan, sporting director Fernando Hierro, and the coaching staff of Stefano Pioli.

Jorge Jesus will be the 20th coach to manage Ronaldo in his career, including interim appointments. Ronaldo's longest-serving coach was Alex Ferguson at Man Utd from 2003 to 2009, spanning 292 matches. During this period, Ronaldo scored 118 goals and provided 63 assists.

When asked about working with Ronaldo, Jesus replied, "It will be very simple. He speaks Portuguese like me, so everything will be fine,".

Jesus has led teams to 24 titles, from Braga, Benfica, and Sporting to Al Hilal, Flamengo, and Fenerbahce. He helped Al Hilal achieve a Guinness World Record of 34 consecutive unbeaten matches across all competitions before leaving the club in 5/2025.

Hoang An (according to Koora)