“Saudi league better than MLS”
Cristiano Ronaldo teases Lionel Messi
07/18/2023 10:36 am
After a 5-0 friendly defeat with his club Al-Nassr, Cristiano Ronaldo explains his view of the football world: The Saudi league is better than the US MLS, European football has lost quality – and he will not return either .
Cristiano Ronaldo will not end his football career at a European club. “I am 100 per cent sure that I will not return to any European club. I am 38 years old,” the attacking star of Saudi club Al-Nassr told journalists in Portugal, according to an ESPN report.
Ronaldo, who once played for Sporting Lisbon, Real Madrid, Juventus Turin and Manchester United, signed a two-and-a-half-year contract in Saudi Arabia last December. He paved the way for other top players, more would follow, Ronaldo said.
“European football has lost a lot of quality. The only valid league that’s still functioning well is the Premier League. It’s far ahead of all other leagues,” Ronaldo said after Al-Nassr’s 5-0 defeat in a friendly on Monday night against the Spanish first division club Celta Vigo.
Ronaldo also allowed himself a small tip against Argentina’s world champion Lionel Messi: “The Saudi league is better than the MLS,” said the five-time world footballer. His long-time competitor Messi will play for Inter Miami in Major League Soccer. The seven-time world footballer signed a contract there until 2025.
Top players Karim Benzema from Real Madrid and N’Golo Kanté from Chelsea, among others, have switched to the Saudi league. “Now all the players are coming here,” said Ronaldo, “in a year more top players will come to Saudi Arabia.” But not to his club. Due to outstanding debts to Leicester City, the world association FIFA imposed a transfer ban on Al-Nassr a few days ago.