“Ronaldo asked me to stay”?

Vincent Aboubakar reveals he forced his way out of Al-Nassr despite Cristiano Ronaldo wanting him at the club

Vincent Aboubakar has revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo wanted him to stay at Al-Nassr despite claims that the Portuguese icon’s arrival forced him out of the club.

Following weeks of speculation, Al-Nassr finalized a deal to sign Cristiano Ronaldo on a free transfer in December. They notably handed the forward a £173 million per year deal to lure him to Saudi Arabia.

However, Ronaldo’s arrival meant that Al-Aalami had to offload one of their foreign players. In the first week of January, it emerged that the Riyadh-based club have axed Aboubakar to register their new signing.

Aboubakar has since put pen to paper on a two-and-a-half-year contract with Turkish giants Besiktas. While Manchester United were linked with a shock move for him, he eventually returned to the club where he has already had two stints at.

Having settled in at Besiktas, Aboubakar has now lifted the lid on his Al-Nassr departure last month. He quashed suggestions that he was forced out of the club due to Ronaldo’s signing.

The Cameroon international revealed that the five-time Ballon d’Or winner in fact asked him to stay put. He disclosed that he left the Saudi Pro League club of his own volition, contrary to claims.

Aboubakar said on the French television channel Canal+ [via Actu Cameroun]:

“With the arrival of Cristiano, I made it clear to the coach before his arrival that I already wanted to leave. When Ronaldo arrived, a foreign player had to be released.””Ronaldo asked me to stay and the club wanted me to stay at least until the end of the season but I wanted to leave. The club wanted me to stay and were ready to pay my salary until the end of the season.”

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first goal for Al-Nassr last week

While Cristiano Ronaldo’s arrival was a cause for excitement among football fans in Saudi Arabia, he struggled to hit the ground running in the country. It took him three competitive matches to score his first goal for Al-Nassr.

The 38-year-old opened his account for Al-Aalami with a penalty in their 2-2 draw against Al-Fateh on Friday, February 3. His goal, which came in the dying minutes of the match, saw his team salvage a point.

Rudi Garcia’s side have notably won just one of their three matches since Cristiano Ronaldo’s debut. The forward, though, will be determined to lead the side to Saudi Pro League glory this season.