"It cannot be otherwise" - Al-Nassr star opens up on how teammates feel about Cristiano Ronaldo being captain

Al-Nassr winger Jaloliddin Masharipov has lifted the lid on how the rest of the players in Al-Aalami feel about Cristiano Ronaldo being named the club's captain immediately after his arrival.

Cristiano Ronaldo parted ways with Manchester United by mutual consent in November last year. Following weeks of speculation, he eventually joined Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr on a free transfer.

The Portuguese icon put pen to paper on a two-and-a-half-year deal with the Saudi Pro League club. His move to the Middle East also saw him become the highest-paid footballer in the world as he now earns £173 million a year.

Al-Nassr honored Ronaldo further by naming him the team's captain immediately after his arrival. Abdullah Madu had previously worn the armband for the club, but was removed from the role following the forward's arrival.

Masharipov has now revealed how the rest of the players reacted to Ronaldo being handed the armband. The Uzbekistan international is of the view that it would be odd for someone else in the team to captain the five-time Ballon d'Or winner.

The Al-Aalami winger pointed out that Madu stepped down from his role as captain without any complaints following the forward's signing. He insisted that the whole squad expected the captaincy to change once Ronaldo joined the club. Masharipov told Sports.ru [via Sports.uz]:

"It'd be a little strange if the rest of the players are captaining Ronaldo. We expected it. Our former captain willingly handed over the armband [to Cristiano Ronaldo] without any problems. I think this is the best solution. It cannot be otherwise."

Cristiano Ronaldo wore the armband in each of the three matches he has played for Al-Aalami so far. The Riyadh-based club, though, have only won one of those games.

It is worth noting that the 38-year-old also captained an All-Star XI, consisting of players from both Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal, against Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) last month. However, that match too ended in defeat for Ronaldo's side, with Les Parisiens claiming a 5-4 win.

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Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first goal for Al-Nassr last week

Cristiano Ronaldo notably failed to find the back of the net in his first two matches for the club. It took him three competitive games to score his first goal for the Saudi Pro League club.

The forward opened his account for Rudi Garcia's side in their 2-2 draw against Al-Fateh on Friday, February 3. He converted a penalty in the dying minutes of the game to earn Al-Nassr side a point.