“If Madrid leave Cristiano Ronaldo at home, it’s better!” - When Roberto Mancini made hilarious claim about facing Portugal superstar

Former Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini once joked that it would be better if Real Madrid left Cristiano Ronaldo out of the squad to face his City side. The comments were made ahead of a Champions League group-stage tie in the 2012-13 campaign.

The Portuguese forward was in tremendous form for Los Blancos at that time and was one of the most feared forwards in the world. His rivalry with Lionel Messi was in full swing and had already taken the world by storm.

Speaking ahead of the Champions League tie in 2012, Mancini added that it is very difficult to mark both Cristiano Ronaldo and the Argentinean.

“If Madrid leave Cristiano at home it’s better! Players like Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are very difficult to mark. We will have our game plan, but players like this can score a goal every game at any moment," said Mancini (via the club's official website).

He continued:

“Real Madrid and Barcelona are the best teams in the world at the moment and it’s difficult to pick one just player because they have very strong squads with more than 20 top players.”

City ended at the bottom of Group D in the group stages that season while Real Madrid finished second. Los Blancos reached the semi-finals of the tournament that year, where they were defeated by Borussia Dortmund.

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When does Cristiano Ronaldo's contract with Al-Nassr expire?

Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo's contract with Al-Nassr expires at the end of this season and he hasn't signed a new deal yet. CR7 arrived in the Middle East in December 2022 after his contract with Manchester United was terminated.

The Portuguese returned to Old Trafford from Juventus in the summer of 2021 for his second stint at the club. However, he fell out with then-manager Erik ten Hag and went on to publicly criticize the Dutchman.

The Red Devils subsequently parted ways with Cristiano Ronaldo, who moved to Riyadh to join Al-Nassr. The Portuguese has enjoyed a decent time with the Saudi club so far, scoring 74 goals and setting up 18 more from 83 games.

However, he has failed to win the Saudi Pro League since joining the club. Last season, Al-Nassr finished second in the league behind champions Al-Hilal.

This year, the Riyadh-based club are fourth in the league table after 13 games, already 11 points behind leaders Al-Ittihad. CR7 has scored 16 goals and registered three assists from 19 games across competitions this season.