Roberto Martinez's Future Amid Portugal's World Cup Challenge

Roberto Martinez is weighing up a very different future while trying to navigate Portugal through a World Cup group that already looks awkward.

According to French outlet RMC Sport, the Portugal head coach is in talks to take over at Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr, the club of Cristiano Ronaldo. Discussions are understood to have started before the tournament kicked off, suggesting this is more than a casual post-World Cup option.

For now, Martinez remains in charge of a Portugal team that opened their World Cup campaign with a stuttering 1-1 draw against DR Congo on Wednesday. It was an underwhelming start, one that leaves the Iberian side third in Group K and already chasing. Colombia’s victory over Uzbekistan later in the day pushed them to the top of the table and turned up the heat on Portugal’s next outing.

Ronaldo, 40 years old and still the reference point, started that draw and stayed on for the full 90 minutes. His presence continues to define Portugal on the pitch and Al-Nassr off it. The idea of Martinez moving from managing Ronaldo for country to potentially managing him for club adds a sharp twist to the story.

The former Belgium coach is out of contract at the end of this World Cup. That timing is no coincidence. With his deal running down and talks with Al-Nassr already under way, the tournament increasingly feels like a last audition rather than the start of a long project.

Portugal now face a double challenge: fight their way out of a tricky group while their manager’s next move hangs in the air. If the World Cup marks the end of Martinez’s international chapter, the question is no longer whether he has options — it is whether his final act with Portugal will be defined by a deep run or an early exit before he boards a flight to Riyadh.