Cristiano Ronaldo claimed the ‘Saudi Pro League is better than the MLS’ a day after Lionel Messi was unveiled by US side Inter Miami.
Lionel Messi was presented with his new club shirt during the unveiling ceremony, after it was announced earlier this summer that he would be joining the Florida-based team in a £45million-per-year deal.
Ronaldo, meanwhile, was one of the first big names to move to Saudi Arabia, joining Al-Nassr following his exit from Manchester United last season in a whopping £175million-per-year deal.
Many other players have now followed him out to the Middle Eastern country, including names such as Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante and even Steven Gerrard.
While Ronaldo recently confirmed that he would be staying in Saudi Arabia next season, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner had also been linked with a return back to Europe and to his former side Real Madrid.
But following a 5-0 pre-season friendly hammering by Celta Vigo on Monday, Ronaldo has issued a frank and honest assessment of his future, claiming he will not be moving to the US or back to Europe, while also taking credit for the influx of players heading to the Middle East.
‘The Saudi league is better than the MLS,’ he said.
‘I’m 100 per cent sure I won’t return to any European club. I opened the way to the Saudi league and now all the players are coming here”.
‘I won’t return to European football, the door is completely closed,’ he added.
‘I’m 38-years-old, also European football has lost lot of quality. The only league that for me has a lot of quality and is at a higher level than all the others is the Premier League.
‘The Spanish league does not have that great quality. The Portuguese league is a good league, but it is not a top, top league. The German league I think has also lost a lot. I’m sure I won’t play in Europe again. I want to play in Saudi Arabia.’
His team Al-Nassr were narrowly beaten to the Saudi Pro League title last season by league rivals Al-Ittihad, but were banned from signing new players by FIFA last week, after they had failed to pay £390,000 in add-ons for former Leicester player Ahmed Musa.
Despite that, the club signed Marcelo Brozovic before the ban was implemented at the start of July and have also been heavily linked with a move for Hakim Ziyech.
‘In one year, more and more top players will come to Saudi,’ the Portuguese superstar continued. ‘In a year the Saudi league will overtake the Turkish league and Dutch league.
‘Players who arrived aren’t like what the president of the European Union said. Jota and Neves are young players.’
Son Heung-min revealed this week that he had rejected an offer to join a Saudi Pro League side.
While Man City also turned down an £18m bid from Al-Ahli’s for Riyad Mahrez on Monday.
When asked whether he would move to the MLS, Ronaldo added: ‘I think the Saudi league is much better than the United States. My team is Al-Nassr.’
‘100 per cent. It’s a fact,’ Ronaldo said. ‘It was going to take a year, but it was six months. I was wrong for six months.
‘But I knew this was going to happen because in the Italian league, when I went there, it was also dead and then rejuvenated.
‘Where Cristiano goes, it generates greater interest and I knew it was going to be like that. I’m sure that next season more stars will go there [to Saudi Arabia].’