Nuno Espirito Santo. (Twitter)
The French Balon d’Or winner netted his first Saudi Pro League goal during a 4-0 victory over Al-Riyadh on Thursday, following which the team’s manager brushed aside claims of a rift with the 35-year-old former Real Madrid striker.
Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad’s head coach Nuno Espirito Santo called media reports of a row with star striker Karim Benzema as he dismissed the claims as nothing more than ‘nonsense’.
The French Balon d’Or winner netted his first Saudi Pro League goal during a 4-0 victory over Al-Riyadh on Thursday, following which the team’s manager brushed aside claims of a rift with the 35-year-old former Real Madrid striker.
Saudi media reported that the Ballon d’Or winner, who did not score in their first two league matches, was annoyed with the way the Portuguese coach had treated him.
There were also reports that the former Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers manager felt the ex-Real Madrid captain did not fit his style of play.
Nuno was attacked by fans on social media and in the Saudi media and there were calls for his dismissal, despite him leading Al-Ittihad to their first league title since 2009 last season.
”This is nonsense,” Nuno said with the help of an interpreter at his post-match press conference following the team’s win.
”I have a good relationship with all the players. We have a great group and we are happy to have Benzema,” he continued.
”He himself is happy and you can see that on the pitch. He enjoys playing for Al-Ittihad.”
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Benzema also dispelled rumours of a row between him and teammate Abderrazak Hamdallah, the league’s top scorer last season who scored twice, including a penalty, on Thursday.
After the penalty was awarded, Benzema handed the ball to Hamdallah to take the spot kick.
Al-Ittihad, who also signed midfield duo N’Golo Kante and Fabinho this summer, are top of the league after winning their first three games.
Saudi Pro League have splashed money on multiple big-name footballers following the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo to the oil-rich nation’s ambitious project with several established players such as Neymar, Roberto Firminho, and Fabinho have all got on board the Saudi project.
(With Inputs From Reuters)
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – Reuters)