Cristiano Ronaldos AlNassr eye Zinedine Zidane or Jose Mourinho to coach Saudi club after Rudi Garcia firing

Al-Nassr are targeting Zinedine Zidane and Jose Mourinho as their next manager after sacking Rudi Garcia on Thursday, a source close to the Saudi giants told CBS Sports.

Garcia was sacked with the Riyadh side second in the Saudi Pro League with eight games remaining. Under-19 head coach Dinko Jelicic has been given the reins on an interim basis ahead of a big match against Al-Hilal on Tuesday. Al-Nassr have ambitious plans for their next head coach, with Champions League winners Zidane and Mourinho at the top of the list. Those names have been identified in collaboration with Cristiano Ronaldo.

CBS Sports revealed before the Portuguese superstar arrived in Saudi Arabia that he would wield significant power at his new club that extended right the way through to hiring and firing of coaches. It has not taken long for that to be reflected on the field with Garcia departing just eight months after his appointment and 12 games into Ronaldo’s career in Saudi Arabia.

“Al-Nassr can announce that head coach Rudi Garcia has left the club by mutual agreement,” said a club statement. “The board and everyone at Al-Nassr would like to thank Rudi and his staff for their dedicated work during the past eight months.”

With ambitions to grow the profile of the Saudi league extending to the highest levels of government in the kingdom, Al-Nassr are aiming to secure a marquee head coach to go alongside the highest scorer in men’s international football. A source close to the club indicated that an initial verbal offer has been made to Zidane, who has been out of work since departing Real Madrid for a second time in 2021. Ronaldo is understood to be involved in those conversations.

Despite Ronaldo’s involvement sources close to negotiations acknowledge that the situation remains fluid and that there are no guarantees that Zidane will be convinced. the Frenchman has proven to be selective in his projects since moving into management, frequent links with the likes of Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and the French national team have not led to returns to the dugout.

Craving more soccer coverage? Listen below and follow House of Champions, a CBS Sports soccer podcast, bringing you top-notch analysis, commentary, picks and more.

Interest has also been expressed in Mourinho, who has been linked with a move away from Roma this summer. The 60-year-old won La Liga and a Copa del Rey with Ronaldo, who scored 168 goals in 164 games during their three seasons together. Mourinho has also been linked with the Saudi Arabia national team job, which is vacant after Herve Renard took over the French women’s team.

Should both of those ambitious swoops fail, Al-Nassr’s shortlist includes Fenerbahce boss Jorge Jesus and Marcelo Gallardo, the widely admired former River Plate boss. Such ambitious recruitment on the coaching front comes at the same time as a host of Saudi clubs are attempting to bring world football’s brightest on-field stars to the Pro League. Lionel Messi has been offered a stunning €400 million a year to move to Al-Hilal while CBS Sports revealed last week that Al-Ittihad are optimistic that they can secure the signature of Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema.