'I was sacked as coach of Cristiano Ronaldo – that's how I compare him to Lionel Messi'

Former Al Nassr coach Luis Castro has admitted that Cristiano Ronaldo's “constant desire” makes him the best in the world, above Lionel Messi. Castro landed in Saudi Arabia in July 2023, replacing the sacked Rudi Garcia to captain the newly crowned Ronaldo – whose arrival in the Pro League took place the previous January.

The 63-year-old started life well, winning the Arab Club Champions Cup just a month after taking office, but a defeat in the King's Cup final to Al-Hilal and poor results in the start of this latest campaign saw the head coach relieved of his duties.

However, working alongside compatriot Ronaldo, Castro built a vivid picture of what the superstar is really like and praised his work ethic, calling him “the best”.

“Cristiano was, is and will be determined to be the best,” Castro told Marca. “It shows every day in every training session. He has a constant desire to play, to break records, to score the best goals.

“When you are close to him, you understand why he is a phenomenon. He continues to be decisive in everything he does. He knows that football has given him almost everything and he loves it very much.”

Under Castro, Ronaldo broke the Saudi Pro League goalscoring record with his 35 league goals last season and became the first man to win the domestic Golden Boots in four different countries.

Last month, still at 39, Ronaldo won his 900^th career goal in Portugal's 2-1 victory over Croatia in the Nations League, and Castro backed him to reach the coveted thousand.

“Will he reach 1,000 goals? It will not depend on him, but on the context,” added Castro. “We tried to get the best out of Cris and we got him to finish 2023 as top scorer of the year (54 goals). I hope he has a favorable environment around him and that “he will surpass the 1000 goal mark. Cristiano will continue to be decisive.”

Castro was also extremely complimentary of the great Portuguese striker's work ethic while in charge of Al-Nassr, adding in 2023: “He [Ronaldo] is the greatest example of success in the world in terms of rigor, work and discipline.

“Do you think he needs me to make demands of him?” No. You don't have to demand anything from Cristiano; he does it himself. It gives rigor, discipline, maximum demands, always wanting to win, wanting to shine in front of the world.