Cameroon striker, Vincent Aboubakar, has revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo wanted him to remain at Al-Nassr despite claims that the Portuguese’s arrival forced him out of the Saudi Arabia club.
Following weeks of speculation, Al-Nassr finalized a deal to sign Ronaldo on a free transfer last December after the forward’s contract with Manchester United was terminated by mutual consent.
Ronaldo’s arrival meant that Al-Nassr had to offload one of their foreign players.
In early January, it emerged that Al-Nassr had axed Aboubakar to register Ronaldo.
However, Aboubakar, who has since put pen to paper on a two-and-a-half-year deal with Turkish giants Besiktas, has now revealed that he had already decided to leave the Riyadh-based club even before Ronaldo’s arrival.
“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,” Aboubakar said on the French television channel Canal+.
“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.”