Cristiano Ronaldo says Saudi league can be among world’s best in 5 years and will improve if more top stars join him
- Portuguese says he ‘expected to win something’ in his first year at Al Nassr and the league could improve its infrastructure, but ‘I will continue here’
- ‘If they continue to do the work that they want to do here, for the next five years, I think the Saudi league can be a top-five league in the world,’ he says
Cristiano Ronaldo has said Saudi Arabia’s domestic league could become one of the best in the world in the next five years, and will improve if more of the game’s leading lights join him in moving there.
The Portuguese striker has just finished his first season with Al Nassr, scoring 14 goals in 16 appearances, but was unable to help his side stop Al Ittihad winning the Saudi Pro League (SPL) title.
Ronaldo signed a 2½-year contract estimated to be worth more than €200 million (US$220.16 million) with the club, making his debut in January, and said he had expected to be adding another trophy to his already impressive collection.
“To be honest, I expected to win something this year, but it is not always the way we think or the way we want – sometimes we need passion, consistency and persistence to achieve the best things,” he said in an SPL interview.
“So, I still believe that next year we will improve a lot. Let us say in the last five or six months, the team has improved a lot, even the league, all the teams improved.”
The league could improve even more over the summer, with Lionel Messi and Karim Benzema linked to Al Hilal and Al Ittihad respectively, in moves that would be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
And while Ronaldo, who played for Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus, described the SPL as “very good”, he said there were “many opportunities to still grow”.
“The league is competitive,” he said. “We have very good teams, very good Arab players. But they need to improve a little bit more the infrastructure. Even the referees, the VAR system, should be a little quicker. I think other small things they need to improve. But I am happy here, I want to continue here, I will continue here.
“And, in my opinion, if they continue to do the work that they want to do here, for the next five years, I think the Saudi league can be a top-five league in the world.”
Asked what he would say to players considering a move to Saudi Arabia, he said: “If they are coming, big players and big names, young players, old players, they are very welcome, because if that happens, the league will improve a little bit.”
Saad Allazeez, the SPL’s executive vice-chairman, said Ronaldo’s arrival had proved to be “one of the most impactful and transformational in football history”.
Calling the Portuguese striker a special “footballer and person”, he said there had been a “Cristiano effect” in the desert kingdom felt beyond football.
“This season had been our biggest yet, with more spectators on match days, more followers and global viewing than ever before. The Saudi Pro League is now aired by 48 platforms and TV broadcasters in over 170 countries worldwide and attendances of Al Nassr matches have doubled year on year since Cristiano signed.
“Saudi Arabia is already a football-obsessed nation with over 80 per cent of Saudi Arabia’s men and women either playing, attending or following football. Recent developments include the establishment of a professional women’s premier league and women’s national team and school girls league with 50,000 playing each week.
“And thanks to new growth in the league’s popularity, I’m sure other big names will look to follow in Cristiano’s footsteps and join the brilliant young home-grown talent who play in our league.”
