Al Nassr CEO Guido Fienga said Cristiano Ronaldo “does not control the club” but stressed the important role the Portuguese national team captain plays in the team.

The comments follow suggestions that Ronaldo has a great deal of influence on decisions on and off the pitch at the club.

On Wednesday, Al Nassr sacked Portuguese coach Luis Castro after just one win in three league games and replaced him with Italian manager Stefano Pioli.

At a club event on Wednesday, Fienga said: “Cristiano Ronaldo is our captain and he is the strongest player in the world, not only technically but also in terms of behaviour.”

“Cristiano Ronaldo does not control the club, but as number 1 in the world he obviously dictates the direction we should go and the goals we should achieve. He is a winner and we ask him to teach us how to win.”

Ronaldo, 39, has won just one title, the Arab Club Champions Cup, since joining Al Nassr from Manchester United in December 2022.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner scored 62 goals for Al Nassr and his hunger for success with the club was evident in his tears following the King’s Cup final defeat to Al Hilal in May, which left the club without a trophy for the season.

“He is a winner and we ask him to teach us how to win,” Fienga said of the former Real Madrid star.

“We want to win with him this year and achieve our best possible goal. Cristiano is part of the team and we are very happy to have him in our team.”

Ronaldo missed Al Nassr’s 1-1 draw with Al Shorta in the revamped Asian Champions League on Monday due to illness. It was Castro’s last game as coach.

“Step by step we will improve,” said Fienga

“Don’t forget that we invested almost $100 million in new players this summer. I think we did a good job of strengthening the club with some good players that we needed… we have to work and give stability to the club so that it works and creates value and not destroy it every six months.”