Vincent Aboubakar, Cameroon captain, has revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo tried to persuade him to stay at Al-Nassr after his arrival from Manchester United, gistpeople reports
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Aboubakar was said to have known that Al-Nassr would sacrifice a foreign player to make room for Ronaldo, and he did offer himself to Rudi Garcia.
Aboubakar, who had six months left on his Al-Nassr contract, said he had ‘offers’ to play elsewhere and that he wanted to leave the club for ‘family reasons’.
Ronaldo, on the other hand, made it clear that he wanted Aboubakar to stay in Saudi Arabia after the United exit in December 2022.
‘We talked a bit, and his [Ronaldo’s] opinion was that he wanted me to stay,’ Aboubakar said on Canal+’s Talents d’Afrique. I told him no, that I had to leave because of family obligations.
‘He asked where my family was, and I told him they were in France, so I’d rather go to Turkey because it’s closer. And he told me that if your family is really far away, it’s better, because it’s more complicated. I was determined to leave.’
When asked if he was annoyed, Aboubakar said yes, but insisted it was the right decision.
‘I left a little irritated because it wasn’t easy,’ he explained. ‘When Cristiano arrived, [Al Nassr] head coach Rudi Garcia summoned me to his office. He told me that an international player had to leave, and that it was either me or Jaloliddin Masharipov [of Uzbekistan].
‘I told him that I had already decided to leave and that, honestly, with Cristiano on the way, my playing time would be reduced and it would be better for me to leave. I received several offers, including one from Besiktas. They wanted me to stay until the season ended. ‘No, president, I prefer to leave,’ I replied.
‘It was a little complicated, but they eventually let me go.’
Aboubakar joined Al-Nassr from Besiktas in July 2021 and went on to score 13 goals and assist six times.
His 39 appearances for Riyadh helped him secure a place for Cameroon in the 2022 World Cup.
