Postecoglou confirms Cristiano Ronaldo is ready to play for Al Nassr after Portugal exit

The saga between Cristiano Ronaldo and the Portuguese national team keeps adding chapters, but at Al Nassr they'd rather focus on the part that concerns them: the forward is back and, according to his coach, fully fired up. Ange Postecoglou addressed the matter ahead of Thursday's league clash with Al Draih and offered a line that sums up his stance: he won't get into what happened with the national team, but he does want to make clear how his star player arrives.

It all started when Ronaldo, 41, left the Portugal camp during the international window following a falling out with the new national team coach, Jorge Jesus, his former manager at Al Nassr. The Portuguese captain even put out a statement accusing Jesus of breaking promises. The final spark came when Jesus announced he wasn't planning to start Ronaldo against Denmark on October 1, just days after Ronaldo had been left on the bench, unused, in Portugal's 2-1 win over Norway on September 27 in the Nations League.

With that atmosphere still tense, Ronaldo returned to Saudi Arabia on Monday, and Postecoglou was asked directly about the situation. His answer was clear on what he did want to share:

Ronaldo played for us with total commitment and his morale is very high. Now I'm his coach at Al Nassr, and he's a great addition to our team.Ange Postecoglou

On everything else, the Australian stepped away from the topic entirely: "I don't like to talk about what happened with his national team," he said, making clear he had no intention of commenting on decisions outside his own club.

A coach who's been there before

Postecoglou isn't speaking from a distance here: he himself managed the Australian national team for four years, so he knows firsthand that line between club and country. That's why he went further and laid out his philosophy on the matter:

I previously managed a national team for four years, and I don't like club coaches speaking about national team coaches, so I'm not going to comment on that.Ange Postecoglou

What he did confirm, without hesitation, is that Ronaldo is ready to compete: "Ronaldo is back and ready to play," he said ahead of the match against Al Draih.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo himself has already apologized to his national team teammates and said he will accept whatever punishment the Portuguese Football Federation decides on. Will everything be patched up in time for the next call-up? Portugal closed out the window with a perfect record, four wins in four Nations League matches, and still have two games in November, against Denmark and Wales, which would be the next real opportunity for Ronaldo to pull on the national team shirt again.

There's no small amount on the line for the star: he has racked up 146 goals in 234 matches for Portugal, a record that still stands. At Al Nassr, by contrast, there's no friction at all: with Jorge Jesus still on the bench last season, Ronaldo won the Saudi Pro League title, and now, under Postecoglou's management, the club is welcoming him back with open arms to keep logging minutes in the domestic competition.