Portuguese coach Castro leaves after failing to land the league title during his first year in charge of the Saudi club.

Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr have announced the departure of their Portuguese coach Luis Castro a day after starting their AFC Champions League Elite campaign with a disappointing draw.

Castro leaves after more than a year in charge of the Cristiano Ronaldo-led side.

“Everyone at AlNassr would like to thank Luis and his staff for their dedicated work during the past 14 months,” the Riyadh-based club said in a post on X on Tuesday without disclosing why he was no longer in the role.

The Portuguese coach led Al Nassr to lift the Arab Club Champions Cup last year, a competition contested by 37 teams from Asia and Africa.

Al Nassr sit seventh in the standings with five points, having won one of their three opening league fixtures in the campaign.

They finished second in the league last season, 14 points behind Al Hilal and lost the Saudi Super Cup final 4-1 against the league champions earlier in August.

AlNassr can announce that Head Coach Luis Castro has left the Club.

Everyone at AlNassr would like to thank Luis and his staff for their dedicated work during the past 14 months, wishing them the best of luck for the future. pic.twitter.com/FznpvPHG0T

— AlNassr FC (@AlNassrFC_EN) September 17, 2024

The club drew 1-1 with Iraq’s Al Shorta on Monday when they played without their forward. Ronaldo was left behind in Riyadh because Al Nassr said the Portugal superstar, who has won five UEFA Champions Leagues but has yet to win a major trophy with his current club, had a viral infection and could not travel to Baghdad.

Castro previously coached teams including Shakhtar Donetsk, with whom he won the Ukrainian Premier League in 2019-20, as well as Portuguese sides Vitoria Guimaraes, Porto and Rio Ave.

In April 2023, coach Rudi Garcia left Al Nassr after failing to secure first place despite Ronaldo’s arrival four months earlier.

According to domestic media, Stefano Pioli, who managed AC Milan to the Italian championship in 2022 and is available after leaving the club in May, is on the list of Al Nassr’s preferred replacements.