Luis Castro fired from Al-Nassr

On Tuesday afternoon (17), Al-Nassr announced the dismissal of Portuguese coach Luis Castro, who had a remarkable stint at Botafogo, but who, in the Saudi team, could not handle the pressure given the terrible start to the 24/25 season.

Hired in the 23/24 season, Luis Castro arrived with high expectations as he was recommended by Cristiano Ronaldo after a private call with the then Botafogo coach, in addition to the great work he had been doing with the Rio de Janeiro club, leading the Brazilian Championship and the Copa Sudamericana. Despite having gone through turbulence, SAF and its owner John Textor, supported the coach despite pressure from the fans, which proved to be a gamble that reaped rewards.

_{Luís Castro in command of Al-Nassr. (photo: reproduction/Yasser Bakhsh/portaltimes})

Arrival at Al-Nassr

He arrived at the beginning of the 23/24 season, and during that season the coach was still being criticized for the club's performance, but he still won the Arab Champions Cup. Then came a tough streak, where he went five games without winning against his main rival Al-Hilal. One defeat that was quite notable was in the AFC Champions League, when the team fell to Al-Ain, from the United Arab Emirates, on penalties, and lost the main titles to their biggest rival.

What caught people's attention when he was hired was the personal connection from Cristiano Ronaldo, who had recently arrived at the club, a special request from the Portuguese star and his high salary, twice as high as what he received at Botafogo.

Terrible start to the season

Starting the 24/25 season, one would expect a better start for the team managed by Luís Castro, but quite the opposite was true. With him in charge, the team only managed two incredible wins in six games, in addition to the 4-1 defeat to Al-Hilal in the final of the Saudi Arabian Super Cup, which also saw one win and three draws in a row after that defeat (Al-Raed and Al-Ahli, in the local league, and Al-Shorta, making their debut in the Asian Champions League).

Now free on the market, the coach's staff is already looking for new clubs, while shortly after his dismissal, Al-Nassr were already in advanced talks with former Milan coach Stefano Pioli, who has been free on the market since leaving the Milan team last season.

On his Instagram, Cristiano Ronaldo thanked and wished the coach good luck.

_{Cristiano Ronaldo next to Luis Castro. (photo: reproduction/Instagram/@cristiano)}

If Luís Castro was hired by the Saudi club, Cristiano Ronaldo was extremely important. At the time, the coach was on the rise and a negotiation was out of the question. Due to the strategy of the owner of the SAF of the Rio de Janeiro club, he would be one of the pillars of the new project for this stage of the institution, everything would go through him, where he would have total control over the football department, from hiring and everything that involves this area, but due to the bridge and the connection, this project was interrupted.

Featured photo: Luís Castro (Reproduction/Amanda Perobelli/Reuters)