Rudi Garcia risks being sacked as the head coach of Al-Nassr due to his alleged strained relationship with the football club captain, Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Frenchman has just one game to save his job after his departure was fuelled by a deteriorating relationship and dressing room row with his squad featuring Cristiano Ronaldo.
Al-Nassr moved to within three points of the Saudi Pro League leaders after their recent 5-0 away win, but failed to build on that performance in a 0-0 draw with Al Feia on Sunday.
The 0-0 draw against Al Feiha saw Ronaldo looking increasingly frustrated with his team and opponents, and was captured telling rival winger Ali Al-Zaqaan: “You don’t want to play,” accusing him of time wasting.
Ronaldo was also seen storming down the tunnel at full-time, removing his captain’s armband without shaking hands with any of his fellow competitors.
Things also got worse after the game, Rudi Garcia was dissatisfied with the performance of his players and supposedly berated the club’s stars in the dressing room.
Despite having his press conference cancelled, Garcia did speak to the Saudi Sports Company post-match, and said: “The result is definitely bad and we are not happy.
“I don’t feel satisfied with the players’ performance. I asked them to play at the same level as the last game (in the 5-0 victory against Al-Adalah), but this didn’t happen.
“There are seven games left, we will try to recover, and we realise that it’s not easy after we lost two points, but everything is possible.”
Garcia had similarly openly criticised new £173million-per-year star Ronaldo earlier this year after he missed a huge chance during a game.
“One of the things that changed the course of the match was Cristiano’s missed opportunity in the first half,” the boss assessed after the game.
According to the Saudi press, via AS, Ronaldo has grown increasingly frustrated with Garcia, and let the club know, and Al Nassr have sided with their superstar signing.
The Portuguese star is believed to be unhappy with the team’s level of play, while he himself has 11 goals in 10 games since arriving at the Saudi Arabian club.
And with expectations not being met on the pitch, club chiefs have reportedly opted to give Rudi Garcia one game to save his job at Al Nassr, with seven games of the season to go.
KanyiDaily recalls that before Ronaldo left Old Trafford, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer lost his job as manager of Machester United during the Portuguese’s brief second stint back at the club.
Cristiano Ronaldo joined Al-Nassr in December on a record deal of £173million-a-year after he was released by Manchester United following an explosive interview with Piers Morgan.