Football pundit Mohammad Al-Deayea has said Al Nassr players were jubilant when former boss Luis Castro was sacked.
He said the players felt that the coach preferred superstar forward Cristiano Ronaldo over other stars in the club.
The Knights of Najd decided to sack Ronaldo’s compatriot after a poor start to the season.
The Pro League giants were seventh in the table, with just five points in three games when Luis Castro was finally dismissed on September 17.
Former Al-Hilal goalkeeper Mohammad Al-Deayea said on the Dorina Gear programme (via Ysscores): “There are some players who celebrated after Castro’s dismissal, because they did not play with him regularly, and they did not feel confident with him.
“The coach preferred Cristiano Ronaldo over everyone else, despite the presence of prominent names in the team and a lot of progress, but he only cared about his compatriot, which is unacceptable, and caused the players’ level to decline due to the psychological factor.
“It is true that Cristiano is a high-level scorer and the best player in the world but the interaction should have been better with the other players. Al-Nassr appeared well in the first match with Pioli because of his interaction.”