Cristiano Ronaldo, aged 38, stated that he will not be playing club football in Europe again and believes that the Saudi Arabian league is superior to Major League Soccer, where his rival Lionel Messi has decided to continue his career.
Ronaldo, who recently signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Al-Nassr after leaving Manchester United, expressed that his move to Saudi Arabia has opened doors for other top players to join Saudi teams, and he expects more players to make the move to the desert kingdom.
The 38-year-old captain of Portugal, who spoke after Al Nassr’s 5-0 defeat to Celta Vigo in a pre-season friendly on Monday, expressed his belief that many European leagues were experiencing a decline.
“I’m 100% sure I won’t return to any European club. I’m 38 years old,” ESPN quoted him as saying.
“European football has lost a lot of quality. The only valid one and still doing good is the (English) Premier League. They’re way ahead of all the other leagues.”
Ronaldo’s rival, Messi, was also rumored to be moving to Saudi Arabia, but instead, he joined MLS team Inter Miami and signed a contract until 2025. Ronaldo believes that the league he is currently playing in has higher quality.
“The Saudi league is better than MLS,” Ronaldo said.
“Now all the players are coming here … In one year, more top players will come to Saudi Arabia.”
Many well-known players, such as Karim Benzema from Real Madrid and N’Golo Kante from Chelsea, have joined the Saudi league alongside Ronaldo. Both Benzema and Kante, who won the Ballon d’Or award, have joined the champions Al-Ittihad.
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