Cristiano Ronaldo recently made some outrageous claims about the Saudi Pro League, going as far as saying it is better than Major League Soccer just a day after Lionel Messi was unveiled by Inter Miami. However, there's a level of validity to what the Portuguese superstar... here's why!
Ronaldo is no stranger to dropping bombshells and making his feelings known. Earlier this week, he confidently stated that the Saudi Pro League is superior to the United States' top flight, with some suggesting the comments were a thinly veiled dig at his old rival Messi. Given the timing of the remark, which came little more than 24 hours after Messi was paraded in front of thousands of fans in Fort Lauderdale during a glitzy welcoming ceremony, it may be fair to assume there is a correlation between the two events.
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The Saudis have made massive gains in terms of their vision to globalise their top division, with the world's richest owners, the Public Investment Fund, having pumped huge investment into the project after acquiring a majority ownership stake in four of the biggest SPL clubs: Al Ahli, Al Nassr, Al Hilal, and Al Ittihad. These four teams have already spent handsomely in the transfer market, luring players such Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kante, Edouard Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly, Marcelo Brozovic, Roberto Firmino, Seko Fofana, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Ruben Neves to the Gulf state. What is notable is that all these players left Europe's top five leagues in favour of the Middle East, something that has rarely been witnessed at such a massive scale, and many more are expected to follow. By the end of the transfer window, this number may even be doubled, with the likes of Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, and Riyad Mahrez having already reportedly agreed to deals to join teams in the league too.
This, therefore, strengthens Ronaldo's argument that he has brought a massive appeal to the SPL, something the MLS has not managed to do at as huge a scale. In the past, the US top tier was seen as an attractive alternative to European football for players in the twilight of their careers looking for one last big paycheque. However, regulations such as the Designated Player Rule, which allows only three stars in each side to earn more than the league's salary cap, have seemingly limited Major League Soccer from accommodating a massive influx of stars into the division. It is clear the Saudi Pro League is in a superior position in this regard as it now boasts two Ballon d'Or winners (Ronaldo and Benzema), a World Cup winner (Kante), and a 2022/23 UEFA Champions League finalist (Brozovic), to mention a few. It is thus fair to argue that, in terms of personnel, the SPL is already superior, with the MLS' top stars being Xherdan Shaqiri, Lorenzo Insigne, Giorgio Chiellini and Javier Hernandez, prior to Messi and Sergio Busquets' arrivals.
One caveat, though, is that the SPL has been deemed a risky league to go to in terms of contractual disputes between players and clubs by FIFPRO, with Al Ahli being one of the clubs implicated, as evidenced by the case involving their former manager Pitso Mosimane, who left his role after claiming to have not been paid for several months.
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