Raul Caneda slams Cristiano Ronaldo's critics, says big stars like Xavi, Iniesta, and Raul also moved to Asia

Spanish football manager Raul Caneda has criticised those who have mocked Cristiano Ronaldo’s switch to Al-Nassr, and pointed out that the Portuguese player is not the first big star to move to Asia.

Over a month after separating from Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo announced the next chapter of his legendary career, confirming that he had joined Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr. Many have since ridiculed the transfer, calling it the end of Ronaldo’s career.

But Caneda, who served as Al-Nassr’s manager between 2014 and 2016, has now slammed Ronaldo’s critics. He highlighted that even Barcelona legends Xavi and Andres Iniesta and Real Madrid icon Raul joined Asian teams toward the fag end of their careers.

When asked whether or not Ronaldo was wrong to join Al-Nassr, Caneda replied (via Diario AS):

“Why is he wrong? I have seen Iniesta, Xavi and Raúl go to less strong leagues and no one said they should take a step back. Cristiano is going to have the best contract in the history of football.

“I think that different phobias influence this type of opinion, including the Messi-Cristiano dichotomy. Iniesta didn't go to Japan to eat sushi, I guess he did it for money, and Xavi in Qatar did a great job.”

Iniesta joined Japanese club Vissel Kobe as a free agent at the end of the 2017-18 season. He still has over a year remaining on his contract. Raul and Xavi joined Al-Sadd after their European run. Raul spent a couple of years at the club (2012-2014) while Xavi was there for four years (2015-2019).

After ending his playing career, Xavi managed Al-Sadd for over two years (until November 2021) before taking charge of Barcelona.

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Cristiano Ronaldo made a blunder in his first-ever Al-Nassr press conference

Having signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr worth close to $200 million/year, Cristiano Ronaldo was officially unveiled at the Mrsool Park on Tuesday, 3 January. Before the big unveiling he had his very first press conference in Saudi Arabia, but he made a massive blunder during it.

Ronaldo called Saudi Arabia “South Africa” when answering a question, drawing attention from many across the world.

He said (via Sport Bible):

"For me, it's not the end of my career to come into South Africa, this is what I want to change - and to be honest I don't really worry about what the people say."

South African Tourism's official Twitter handle made the most of the free publicity they got from Cristiano Ronaldo and hilariously claimed they were waiting for the Portuguese player to arrive.