Portugal manager Roberto Martinez is in discussions to take over at Cristiano Ronaldo's club Al-Nassr after the World Cup. Martinez is approaching the end of his contract having taken over as Portugal's head coach in 2023.
Attempts to leave on a high got off to an inauspicious start on Wednesday with his side held to a 1-1 draw against DR Congo in their Group K match. The former Swansea, Wigan and Everton boss is already eying up his next role with RMC Sport reporting the 52-year-old has begun talks to replace Jorge Jesus as Al Nassr head coach.
Such a move would see Martinez continue working with Ronaldo with the two sharing a close relationship in the national team set up. Portugal have arguably the most complete midfield in international football with Joao Neves, Vitinha and Bruno Fernandes but had no cutting edge up front with Ronaldo leading the line in their group opener.
The former Real Madrid and Manchester United star is his country's leading goal scorer with 143 goals but has not scored a non-penalty goal for his country in a major competition since 2021 despite being virtually undroppable. Ronaldo again played the full 90 minutes on Wednesday, managing just three shots on goal, none on target, in a toothless display.
Martinez's predecessor Fernando Santos famously dropped Ronaldo for a quarter-final clash with Switzerland at the 2022 World Cup with Goncalo Ramos scoring a thrilling hat-trick in his place. But the current Portugal boss insists he has no plans to leave the 41-year-old out of his team.
'It makes no sense to get the best goal scorer in world football out in a game that you need goals,' Martinez said. 'For us in moments like this, the experience of Cristiano in the box is important. The way that he attracts defenders is important, the way that we can use the space is important. And every player has a responsibility or a piece of quality on the pitch. And clearly when you look for goals, you need to have Cristiano.'
