“Saudi Arabia will be in the top five leagues in the world,” Ronaldo says again
Cristiano Ronaldo (37), who has started a new challenge in Saudi Arabia, has expressed his pride and affection for the Saudi league.
“The Saudi Pro League will be one of the top five leagues in the world in the future,” he said in an interview after his side’s match against Al Shabab in the 28th round of the Saudi Pro League on Friday.
“The league is improving, it will be even better next year,” Ronaldo said, “I think it will be in the top five leagues in the world (one day), although it will be gradual.” This contradicts recent suggestions from some European media that Ronaldo wants to return to Europe.메이저사이트
In March, Ronaldo also said, “The Saudi League is a very competitive league. I’m not lying. It’s not the Premier League, but it really surprised me,” he said in March, adding that he was confident that “if things go according to plan, the Saudi League will be the fourth or fifth best league in the world in five, six, seven years.” Currently, the top five leagues in the world are the English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga, and French Ligue 1, which means pushing one of them out.
Ronaldo joined Al Nasr in January after terminating his contract with Manchester United in November last year ahead of the World Cup.
Joining Al Nasr was not his original plan. He wanted to play for a team that competed in the UEFA Champions League, but no one was calling. Al Nasr, who were not an option for Ronaldo, lured him in with the promise of a ‘wad of cash’ worth €200 million a year. Alongside wages, the deal included revenue from commercial rights such as advertising and endorsement deals.
Al-Hilal’s signing of Ronaldo is part of a larger project by the kingdom. The kingdom is planning a series of economic and social reforms called Vision 2030, one of which is to host the 2030 World Cup. The kingdom hopes to win votes by co-hosting the tournament with Egypt and Greece. To that end, the kingdom has bought Newcastle United and is sponsoring the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and Club World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
It’s also about making their domestic leagues more competitive. Clubs in their own leagues are using their “oil money” to pursue world stars, like Al Nasr, who bought Ronaldo. Al Hilal, who are chasing Lionel Messi, are a prime example, while a number of former stars have been linked with Saudi clubs, including former Spain internationals Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, who have been linked with Barcelona.
Ronaldo scored a stoppage-time winner against Al Shabab in the 14th minute of a 2-2 draw to secure a 3-2 victory. It was his 14th goal in the league, which puts him fifth in the scoring charts.
Al Nasr took their tally to 63 points with the win, moving three points clear of leaders Al Ittihad. Al Nasr is looking to win the title for the first time in four seasons after the 2018-19 season.