Cristiano Ronaldo recently opened up about his move to the Saudi Pro League and shared how the quality of football surprised him positively. He believes that if the Football Federation take the right measures then the league will be among the top 4-5 leagues in the world.
The Al Nassr forward moved to Saudi Arabia after the World Cup after taking exit from Manchester United. He joined Al Nassr as a free agent and has brought eyeballs into the Saudi Pro League just because of his aura and popularity.
Ronaldo has featured in 10 matches for Al Nassr ever since joining them and has already netted nine goals and has provided two assists. He was also named the player of the month for February. He recently opened up on his Saudi Pro League experience and compared it with his Premier League experience.
The Portuguese superstar did acknowledge that the level of Premier League and Saudi Pro League isn’t the same. But he shared how he was positively surprised by the quality of football played in Saudi Arabia.
“Saudi League is not the Premier League, I am not going to lie. But it’s a league that has left me positively suprised. It can become a very big league because of how much they want to keep improving,” Ronaldo opened up ahead of Portugal’s match against Liechtenstein in the 2024 Euro Qualifiers.
Ronaldo’s popularity in the Saudi Pro League has elevated the football scene in the country and in Asian as a whole. There are lot more eyeballs from all around the world. Just Ronaldo’s inclusion in the league has forced many countries to take television rights for the Saudi League. It was something that even the Saudi Arabian sports minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faizal also accepted.
“I’ll give you an example, just by Ronaldo coming we have 137 channels around the world broadcasting the Saudi league. We wanted that in the beginning but they said they were not interested, but since one player came now it’s all over the world,” he added.
Lastly Ronaldo also shared a thought when asked about his sour ending to his Manchester United career. The veteran forward mutually terminated the deal after his controversial interview with Piers Morgan against the club and the current head coach Erik ten Hag. Despite not having a great time in Manchester, Ronaldo feels it was a part of his journey and will help in his growth as a human and also as a footballer.
“Sometimes, you have to go through some things to see who is on my side. I have no problem saying, I had a bad career run, but there’s no time for regrets. Life goes on and, doing well or not, it was part of my growth,” Ronaldo concluded.
