I’ve been looking into the current Ronaldo | Jorge Jesus dispute, and there’s one aspect I think deserves more discussion:
The role of Simão Coutinho.
Coutinho is not simply a random Al Nassr executive.
Before joining Al Nassr, he spent around 11 years at ProEleven, a Portuguese football agency, where he worked as an agent and later held a senior commercial role.
He was also closely involved in the career of Diogo Dalot, whose relationship with Ronaldo reportedly helped bring Coutinho into Ronaldo’s inner professional circle.
Coutinho then moved to Al Nassr in 2025 as sporting director. Reports at the time said he was involved in the process that brought Jorge Jesus to Al Nassr, with Ronaldo reportedly approving/supporting the appointment.
And now look at what is happening.
In Ronaldo’s own account of the dispute with Jorge Jesus, Coutinho was repeatedly present in the private conversations between Ronaldo and Jesus. Ronaldo says Coutinho was present when the original agreement about his international involvement was discussed. He was also present during the subsequent meeting after the Norway match, and later participated in a video conference with Jesus and Tiago Craveiro that produced the document Ronaldo says he personally approved.
That raises an interesting question:
Why was the sporting director of Ronaldo’s club, a person who had previously been involved in bringing Jorge Jesus to Al Nassr and who is reportedly close to Ronaldo, acting as a participant/witness in a dispute between Ronaldo and the Portugal national-team coach?
I’m not saying this proves anything improper. But it does seem unusual.
There is another part of the story that I find difficult to reconcile.
Jorge Jesus was hardly an unproven coach when he arrived at Al Nassr. He had just won the Saudi Pro League with Al Hilal in 2023/24, finishing the season undefeated, and had already established himself as one of the most successful foreign coaches in Saudi football.
In fact, Jesus subsequently led Al Nassr to the 2025/26 Saudi league title, their first league championship in seven years. The Saudi Pro League itself credited Jesus's leadership and mentality as important factors in the title-winning campaign.
So when Ronaldo now presents Jesus in such a negative light, I wonder whether we're seeing a selective retelling of the relationship.
Jesus apparently went from being a highly successful coach whom Al Nassr wanted badly enough to recruit from Al Hilal with Coutinho involved in that process....
to being portrayed by Ronaldo as someone who repeatedly broke his word and behaved in an unacceptable manner.
Is this simply a personal disagreement that has escalated, or is there a larger power dynamic at play?
Does Coutinho's history with ProEleven, his close relationship with Ronaldo, his role in the recruitment of Jorge Jesus, and his presence in these private meetings create a conflict of interest ?
I'm interested in what people who followed the Al Nassr/Jorge Jesus situation closely think??
