Ronaldo took a shot at Messi, calling the competition in Saudi Arabia more superior than Major League Soccer.
The modern era of football is filled with stars, but very few have been able to achieve what Cristiano Ronaldo and his biggest contemporary, Lionel Messi, have done in the past decade. While many argue the debate between who's the best settled with Messi's World Cup triumph in Qatar, a trophy that has eluded Ronaldo despite him being there for five editions, the Portuguese's latest statement suggests otherwise.
Ronaldo, who now plies his trade in the cash-rich Saudi League, shot at Messi, calling the competition in Saudi Arabia more superior than Major League Soccer (MLS). His statement comes a day after Messi was officially signed by MLS side Inter Miami.
As per reports, Ronaldo, in his conversation with Lisbon sports newspaper A Bola, also shut all the doors to his return to Europe, a continent where his career flourished in the past. "Returning to Europe, for me, is a closed possibility. I'm 38 1/2 years old, and... it's not worth it.
"Europe has lost a lot of quality. The only one that is one of the best is the Premier League. The Spanish league lost its level, the Portuguese league isn't considered top-notch, and the German league also suffered a lot of quality. The USA? "No, the Saudi championship is much better than the USA," he was quoted as saying.
The Portuguese forward plays for Saudi side Al Nassr, which he joined earlier this year. The recent transfer window has seen a huge influx of European talents.
Since Ronaldo's arrival, the Saudi League has attracted his former Real Madrid teammates, Karim Benzema and N'Golo Kante. In addition, Brazil's Roberto Firmino, Senegal's Edouard Mendy, Serbia's Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, and Croatia's Marcelo Brozovic.
Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard has also been hired by a team as a manager. Ronaldo believes more players will take the same route in the coming months. "In one year, more and more top players will come to Saudi Arabia. Within the next few years, the Saudi League will overtake the Turkish League and the Dutch League."
Ronaldo's statement came after Al Nassr endured a 5-0 hammering in a preseason friendly against Spanish top-division side Celta Vigo in Faro, Portugal.
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