Thibaut Courtois and Carlo Ancelotti have backed Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure for Saudi Arabia, the support extended on Tuesday as Real Madrid prepare to play in the Spanish Supercopa.
Cristiano Ronaldo was introduced as an Al Nassr player last week after being released by Manchester United on a free transfer.
Real Madrid will play Valencia in Riyadh on Wednesday in the semifinals of the Spanish Supercopa.
The winner of that match will meet the winner of either Barcelonda or Real Betis in the final on Sunday.
“I think with the signing of Cristiano you can see that this is a country that wants to grow in sport,” Courtois told a news conference.
“We have seen it with Formula One, we have seen it with other events, like we are here.”
“We saw it at the World Cup. [Saudi Arabia] beat Argentina. Cristiano coming here was his decision, but it shows Saudi Arabia wants to improve. It is important for the league that a player of his level has arrived,” he continued.
“This is a fantastic signing for [Al Nassr],” said Ancelotti.
“We wish Cristiano all the best. He is a legend of our club.”
The Spanish Supercopa was first held in Saudi Arabia in 2020 after the Spanish football federation (RFEF) agreed a six-year contract to bring the tournament to the country in a new ‘Final Four’ format.
LaLiga champions Madrid will meet Copa del Rey runners-up Valencia in the semi-final which pits Ancelotti against former AC Milan player Gennaro Gattuso.
“We shared great moments [at Milan], we won two Champions Leagues,” said Ancelotti. “After that, the relationship was not always good. We had some personal problems. I don’t want to talk about it.”
Real Madrid headed into the Supercopa with a 2-1 loss to Villarreal in LaLiga on Saturday and were missing David Alaba and Aurelien Tchouameni with calf injuries.
“I think we are fine physically,” Courtois said.
“We have games every three days but that’s what you get at a big club like Real Madrid. One day [against Villarreal] we weren’t at our best. We’ve spoken to the boss about our mistakes tactically. I think injuries [Tchouameni and Alaba] is not too serious. Hopefully they can be back with the team soon.”
