'It was a dream' - Cristiano Ronaldo branded 'the best in history' by former Al-Nassr team-mate

Talisca started his career in his homeland at Bahia before moving to Portugal, where he spent four years with Benfica. In between, he had played in Turkey briefly on loan at Besiktas. In 2018, he joined Chinese Super League side Guangzhou Evergrande. After three years in China, Talisca moved to Saudi Arabia and signed for Al-Nassr.

He quickly became a talisman for Al-Nassr, but had to give up the spotlight when Ronaldo arrived on a free transfer in January 2023. Al-Nassr also brought in Sadio Mane in the subsequent summer transfer window. Talisca formed one third of a stellar attacking trio at Al-Nassr alongside Ronaldo and Mane and won the Arab Club Championship in 2023.

Talisca decided to head back to Turkey at the start of the year to work under Jose Mourinho at Fenerbahce, but looks back on his time playing with Ronaldo fondly.

Speaking to BandSports, Talisca said of his relationship with Ronaldo: "It was an incredible two years. When he arrived, I had already been there for two years. I spent four years at the club, an incredible story. Playing with him was surreal, it was a dream for me. For me, he is the best in history.

"We trained together and did incredible things. Working with him, for me, as an athlete and as a human being, was about maximising the athlete's potential, being more professional, caring more about himself. It was incredible."

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Ronaldo is currently taking a break from club duties at Al-Nassr, but did not enjoy a happy return to the Portugal national team. He was sent off during Portugal’s 2-0 World Cup qualifying defeat to the Republic of Ireland in Dublin last Thursday for elbowing Irish defender Dara O’Shea. FIFA rules state a three-match suspension be used as punishment in the event of a straight red card. Ronaldo thusly sat out Portugal's final qualifying encounter against Armenia, which they won 9-0 to book a place at the World Cup. Ronaldo is also in danger of sitting out Portugal's first two games at the tournament, but the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) is preparing a formal plea to FIFA, hoping to bring the suspension down to a single game - according to A Bola. 

Their argument primarily hinges on three pillars. The first centres on the atmosphere at the Aviva Stadium, which the federation describes as "hostile".  They argue that it was influenced by Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson’s provocative comments on the eve of the match. Ahead of the game, he suggested Ronaldo had "controlled the referee" during Portugal’s 1-0 win in the reverse fixture last month.

Secondly, the FPF are planning to highlight the physical grappling between O’Shea and Ronaldo leading up to the red card, arguing the striker reacted instinctively after being physically provoked repeatedly inside the box. Finally, they will present Ronaldo’s impeccable disciplinary record at international level. The legendary forward had gone 225 matches without a single red card, which the FPF thinks is compelling evidence that Thursday’s incident was an isolated one and had no malicious intent. 

After failing to win a major trophy in the first two and a half years at the club, Ronaldo is determined to get his hands on some silverware this term. Accordingly, the club have signed star players like Joao Felix and Kingsley Coman to bolster the attack and provide Ronaldo with more service. The ex-Manchester United and Real Madrid star has himself got off to a flying start as he has scored 10 goals in 11 matches across all competitions.

He will be back in action for Al-Nassr this Sunday as they take on Al-Khaleej in an important Saudi Pro League clash.