'I wanted Messi' – Cristiano Ronaldo rinsed by Al-Nassr manager

Al-Nassr manager Rudi Garcia has joked he wanted to sign Lionel Messi first before the Saudi Arabian club brought free agent Cristiano Ronaldo to the club.

Ronaldo and Manchester United agreed to the mutual termination of his contract after he conducted a whiney interview with Piers Morgan, and while the Portugal international has continuously declared his desire to continue playing top flight European football, he has now moved to the Middle East where he will earn £173m.

Comparisons continue to be made with Argentina and Paris Saint-Germain star Messi, who led La Albiceleste to the World Cup trophy in Qatar while Ronaldo was dropped from Portugal’s team before their elimination to Morocco.

He’ll now be managed by Garcia, who has previously taken charge of Lille, Roma, Marseille and Lyon, and the 58-year-old has already risked a Ronaldo strop by revealing he wanted to sign Messi during the World Cup.

He said: “First I wanted to bring Messi from Doha. I tried to bring Messi directly from Doha.”

United manager Erik ten Hag has shown little interest in Ronaldo’s move away from Old Trafford, stating “I don’t talk about the past” after his side saw off Wolves on Saturday.

Ronaldo could make his Al-Nassr debut as early as this Thursday in the Roshn Saudi League before a clash with Al-Shabab in mid January. Al-Shabab are currently a point off Al-Nassr having played a game fewer.