Cristiano Ronaldo reaffirms his stay in Saudi Arabia, feels the league needs to evolve
Posted : 02 June 2023
Cristiano Ronaldo has announced that he would continue to play for Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia next season, but he has also stated that the Saudi Pro League (SPL) has to develop in order to compete with the best leagues in the world.
Ronaldo, 38, moved to Riyadh-based Al Nassr in January after his contract with Manchester United was mutually terminated in November. In 16 games for Al Nassr, he scored 14 goals.
Karim Benzema, a former Real Madrid teammate who is reportedly joining newly-crowned champions Al Ittihad, may join the former Real Madrid and Juventus attacker in Saudi Arabia.
Ronaldo claims that although he has liked his brief stay in Saudi Arabia, there is always room for improvement in areas like officiating and VAR.
"The league is very good," Ronaldo said in an interview with the SPL. "But I think we have many, many opportunities to still grow. The league is competitive. 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."
Due to Al Ittihad winning the SPL and neighbourhood rivals Al Hilal winning the King Cup, Ronaldo concluded his first season at Al Nassr without a trophy.
And the Portuguese international acknowledges that after joining Al Nassr, he had high hopes for this season's awards.
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