Cristiano Ronaldo requests former team-mate at Al-Nassr as Saudi spending to continue

Cristiano Ronaldo has reportedly asked Al-Nassr to sign Carlo Pinsoglio

Cristiano Ronaldo has reportedly asked former Juventus team-mate Carlo Pinsoglio to join him at Al-Nassr. The former Manchester United star became close friends with Juve’s third-choice goalkeeper during his three years in Italy.

Pinsoglio has not played for Juve this season and could be available for a transfer. The 32-year-old has made just five Serie A appearances for the club since joining in 2014.

Ronaldo has reportedly asked for the former Italy U21 international to be signed by his new Saudi Arabian club. Al-Nassr would only be able to sign Pinsoglio in June as the Saudi transfer window has now slammed shut.

The Riyadh outfit could sign Pinsoglio on a free transfer as the goalkeeper’s Juve contract expires in June. He would then join ahead of the 2023-24 campaign.

According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Al-Nassr could listen to Ronaldo’s demands by adding to their goalkeeping ranks. They signed former Arsenal shot-stopper David Ospina last summer but the Colombian has only made 13 appearances.

Ospina suffered a shoulder injury earlier in the campaign and is yet to play with Ronaldo. Al-Nassr could therefore sign Pinsoglio to please their star player.

Ronaldo struck up an excellent relationship with Pinsoglio during his three years in Turin. But the striker left Juve in the summer of 2021 to re-join Man Utd.

Having acrimoniously departed Old Trafford in November, Ronaldo took a while to settle into life in the Middle East. Ronaldo signed an eye-watering reported £137m per-year deal to move to Saudi Arabia.

Carlo Pinsoglio celebrated the new year night with Cristiano Ronaldo. This friendship is goated. ❤⚫⚪ pic.twitter.com/izdz48sWP9

— Forza Juventus (@ForzaJuveEN) January 1, 2021

However, the five-time Ballon d’Or has finally hit form and has bagged two hat-tricks in his last three appearances. A first-half treble against Damac on Saturday followed a four-goal haul Al-Wehda. Ronaldo has now either scored or assisted his side’s last 10 goals.

It comes after team-mate Luiz Gustavo revealed that Ronaldo’s presence made matches harder for Al-Nassr. “The presence of Cristiano Ronaldo gives his rivals more incentive to beat the league leaders,” the former Bayern Munich man said.

"Cristiano motivates everyone. His presence guarantees a great advantage to our group because we learn from him every day, given the great technical and physical qualities he possesses. Cristiano Ronaldo was created for challenges, and he always succeeds.”