Cristiano Ronaldo stated that there is no chance that he will play club soccer in Europe again and that the Saudi league is better than Major League Soccer (MLS), the main league in the US and Canada, where his great rival Lionel Messi has chosen to begin the next chapter of his career.
Ronaldo, who joined Al Nassr in December on a two-and-a-half-year contract following his departure from Manchester United, said he had paved the way for other top players to sign with Saudi teams and many more would make the leap to the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. desert.
The 38-year-old Portuguese captain declared after Al Nassr's 5-0 loss to Celta Vigo in a pre-season friendly on Monday that most European leagues are in decline. "I am 100% sure that I will not return to any European club. I am 38 years old," he told ESPN. "European football has lost a lot of quality. The only valid one that continues to do well is the Premier League [the English league]. They are well ahead of all the other leagues."
Messi, Ronaldo's arch-rival, was also linked with a move to Saudi Arabia before the Argentine world champion completed his move to MLS side Inter Miami, signing a contract until 2025.
"The Saudi league is better than the MLS," Ronaldo declared. "Now all the players come here... Within a year, more top players will come to Saudi Arabia."
Several high-profile players have followed Ronaldo to the Saudi league, including Real Madrid's Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema and Chelsea's N'Golo Kante, who joined champions Al-Ittihad.
Celta kicked off the Rafa Benítez era with a resounding victory against Al Nassr (5-0), whom they destroyed in the second half when their rival was left with ten after a rigorous expulsion of central defender Al Amri (min.51).
Benítez showed his cards in his first summer game. The Madrid coach wants a team that defends with the lines together, that is orderly. He did not mind giving the ball to Al Nassr, a rival of little brilliance despite the presence of Brozovic, Cristiano Ronaldo or the Brazilian Talisca.
The first celestial eleven will have little to do with the one that LaLiga starts. Except for Iago Aspas, Carles Pérez, Joseph Aidoo -if he doesn't end up leaving-, Fran Beltrán and Iván Villar, the rest of the chosen ones will have a very difficult time repeating their title against Osasuna on August 13.
Ahead, Benítez has a little less than a month to polish his project, but the duel against the Arab team has shown that Celta continues to be weak in the air, their great deficit in recent years. Building a strong block in the strategy is the obsession of Carlos Carvalhal's substitute.
