CRISTIANO RONALDO
Cristiano Ronaldo says the Premier League is the only elite league in the world; La Liga “has lost quality”
The Portuguese player also stated that he “opened Pandora’s box, now everyone wants to come to Saudi Arabia.”
Cristiano Ronaldo was the main attraction after his side’s friendly game against Celta, in which Al Nassr were crushed 5-0 by the team that survived relegation by three points last season. The Portuguese forward, who only played in the first half of the game, spoke in the mixed zone in the Algarve Stadium where the match was played.
During the interviews, he spoke highly of the Saudi league, where he is set to play his second season: “Cristiano has opened Pandora’s box and now everyone wants to come to Saudi Arabia”, he said as he addressed the state of the competition and the high-profile transfers that have happened over recent weeks and months.
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Ronaldo slams MLS, saying SPL is “better”
The Portuguese also sent a message to Lionel Messi, who has signed for Inter Miami. Ronaldo was asked whether or not he would make the move to North America, and he responded by saying that “the Saudi league is better than MLS”.
In fact, he affirmed that “the door back to Europe is closed. It’s not like what UEFA says, that only old players go to Saudi Arabia. This year fantastic players have arrived such as Jota or Rubén Neves”. He did not shy away from even saying that the Saudi league could soon be considered to have a higher level than “the Turkish or Dutch” leagues.
‘LaLiga has lost quality; Premier League the only elite league’
Before leaving, Ronaldo checked off the remaining leagues across Europe from his bingo list by saying that LaLiga “has lost quality: the only elite league in the world is the Premier League.”
In terms of the upcoming on-pitch reunion between himself and Karim Benzema, who left Real Madrid for Al Ittihad in the most eye-catching signing so far, Ronaldo was keen to play down the occasion, recognising that the current Ballon d’Or holder’s team are the current Saudi champions. What he did say was that the upcoming season in the Middle Eastern country was going to be “a very fun league”.