Cristiano Ronaldo has asked Al-Nassr to sign an old teammate and friend of his when they make their next move into the transfer market.
The former Manchester United man is reportedly looking forward to being teammates with Italian goalkeeper Carlo Pinsoglio once again. The Portugal international developed a strong friendship with the 32-year-old goalkeeper while at Juventus and has put his name forward as a good option to reinforce Al Nassr’s goalkeeper position.
Pinsoglio signed for the Old Lady in 2014 and has barely played any games due to him being the team’s third choice goalkeeper. However, he was able to build a bond with Ronaldo in the three years that the former Real Madrid man spent at the club.
That bond of friendship has carried on almost three years later and now, Ronaldo is looking out for him by nominating him as a signing for the lavish spenders Al-Nassr to invest in.
Pinsoglio’s current contract at the club expires at the end of the season and the former Italy under-21 international will be available on a free transfer then.
Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport claims that the Riyadh-based team could listen to Ronaldo’s demands as they look to please their star striker and keep him beyond the two years which he signed for.
They previously signed Colombian shot stopper David Ospina from Napoli but he is yet to play with Ronaldo this season as a shoulder injury has limited him to just 13 appearances for the club so far.
Pinsoglio could come in to give Ronaldo a sense of home when the June window arrives, and both friends will be reunited after almost three years apart.
Ronaldo left Juventus on unsavoury terms to return to Manchester United in 2021. He then left Old Trafford on unsavoury terms in December 2022 for a $200 million contract at Al-Nassr, making him the highest-paid footballer in the history of the sport.
After taking a while to settle at the club, he has now scored seven goals in his last three matches for the team, including a quadruple and a hat-trick.
Those performances came after his Al-Nassr teammate Luiz Gustavo revealed that their opponents saw Ronaldo’s presence as an incentive to go even harder against them. “The presence of Cristiano Ronaldo gives his rivals more incentive to beat the league leaders,” the former Bayern Munich man said.
“Cristiano motivates everyone. His presence guarantees a great advantage to our group because we learn from him every day, given the great technical and physical qualities he possesses. Cristiano Ronaldo was created for challenges, and he always succeeds.”
