Jorge Jesus: How Brazil move collapsed and led to Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr switch

Jorge Jesus has explained why his proposed move to manage the Brazil national team collapsed — and how that failure opened the door to his subsequent appointment at Al Nassr. Speaking about negotiations that took place while he was at Al Hilal, Jesus says the Brazilian federation offered a lucrative package and an early verbal agreement was reached, but the process unravelled after legal investigations touched CBF president Ednaldo Rodrigues and the federation changed course.

What Jesus says happened in negotiations with the CBF

According to the account reported by World Soccer Talk summarising an interview in Portuguese outlet Record, Jesus described a meeting in Lisbon where a CBF vice-president and a lawyer met him and put him on a video call with Ednaldo Rodrigues. Jesus says Rodrigues offered what was described as the highest national-team coach salary in the world and that the federation was prepared to pay €11 million to terminate Jesus' contract with Al Hilal. Jesus also told how he planned to delay leaving Al Hilal until after the AFC Champions League Elite final, and that he had informed club players of his intention to move to Brazil in May.

The account says tension arose when the CBF pressed Jesus to join immediately after Dorival Junior was dismissed in late March. Jesus says he insisted on sticking to the previously agreed timing, but CBF leadership reacted sharply. The negotiations then collapsed when legal investigations involving Ednaldo Rodrigues forced the CBF president to resign. By the time a new president, Samir Xaud, took charge in May, the federation's interest had shifted to Carlo Ancelotti, leaving Jesus without the Brazil role.

From uncertainty to Al Nassr: Ronaldo's phone call

With the Brazil appointment no longer available and Al Hilal having already moved on — hiring Simone Inzaghi as Jesus' replacement, according to the report — Jesus says a personal phone call from Cristiano Ronaldo changed his trajectory. Jesus subsequently signed a one-year deal to manage Al Nassr. The report highlights Jesus' immediate statistical impact at the Riyadh club: across 45 matches he recorded 38 wins, one draw and six defeats, giving a points-per-match (PPM) figure reportedly of 2.56, which Transfermarkt data cited in the report identifies as the highest PPM for any Al Nassr coach with more than five matches.

• Jesus says CBF offered to pay €11m to terminate his Al Hilal contract.
• Negotiations included a Lisbon meeting and a video call with then-CBF president Ednaldo Rodrigues.
• Legal investigations into Ednaldo Rodrigues and his resignation were decisive in the deal collapsing.
• By May, the CBF moved to appoint Carlo Ancelotti and Samir Xaud became president.
• Jesus took a one-year Al Nassr contract after a phone call from Cristiano Ronaldo.
• Report cites Transfermarkt data: Jesus recorded 38 wins, 1 draw, 6 defeats in 45 matches (PPM 2.56) at Al Nassr.

Context: implications for Brazil, Al Hilal and Al Nassr

The narrative offered in the interview ties together a chain of events affecting multiple stakeholders: Brazil's search for a high-profile coach ahead of the 2026 World Cup cycle, Al Hilal's coaching succession, and Al Nassr's decision to recruit Jesus amid its high-profile project around Cristiano Ronaldo. The report frames Jesus as having left Al Hilal with plans to take the Brazil job, only for off-field CBF issues to alter the outcome and redirect his career back to Saudi Arabia.

What happens next: the next steps for verification and follow-up reporting

The account provided in the source relies on Jesus' retrospective comments to Record and on secondary reporting by World Soccer Talk. Before publishing as definitive fact, verify the quoted conversations, the €11m figure, the precise timing around the CBF presidency change, and Transfermarkt statistics against primary sources: the original Record interview, official statements from the CBF, Al Hilal, Al Nassr, and Transfermarkt's published data.