MANAN VATSYAYANA/AFP via Getty Images
Don’t expect Cristiano Ronaldo to join Lionel Messi anytime soon.
“The Saudi league is better than MLS,” Ronaldo told reporters. “I opened the way to the Saudi league, and now all the players come here.”
Ronaldo joined Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League in January after his second stint at Manchester United.
While the quality of MLS compared to the Saudi Pro League may be up for debate depending on who you ask, the striker is not wrong about the many notable players who follow him. Karim Benzema, Marcelo Brozovic, N’Golo Kante and Roberto Firmino are all among the players who have agreed to deal with Saudi Pro League teams.
Perhaps most notably, the veteran also said he has no plans to return to a European club.
“I am 100 percent sure that I will not return to any European club,” he said. “I am 38 years old. And European football has lost a lot of quality. The only valid and still good one is the Premier League. They are ahead of all other leagues.”
The comments about MLS in particular come after Messi was introduced to fans as the latest addition to Inter Miami CF on Sunday.
Inter Miami CF @InterMiamiCF
Welcome to our family💗🖤 pic.twitter.com/k7VOSGo1lv
Inter Miami CF @intermiamifc0
The Times #Messi pic.twitter.com/mzWsLiDbh4
Many famous international stars, including David Beckham and Zlatan Ibrahimović, play in MLS, but the addition of Messi seems like something of a watershed moment. After all, he is considered the greatest soccer player of all time by many and comes into the league when he is still famous as a reigning World Cup champion.
He helped lead Argentina to the 2022 World Cup title and was brilliant in the victory over France in the final with two goals, one of which came in extra time.
However, he joined an Inter Miami team that struggled this season.
They sit in last place in the Eastern Conference with 18 points and a full 12 points behind ninth place DC United for the final spot in the playoff picture. It took some magic for the legendary player to lead the club into the postseason.
But much of his career has been defined by that soccer magic.
