Cristiano Ronaldo closes the door on a return to European football

In a latest interview, Cristiano Ronaldo has taken a sly dig at Lionel Messi suggesting that the Saudi League is better than the MLS.

Portugal and Al Nassr forward Cristiano Ronaldo has sparked controversy once again. This time, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, took a sly dig at his long-time competitor Lionel Messi and said that the Saudi League was better than the Major League Soccer (MLS). He also went on to claim that European football has lost a lot of quality in recent years and shut the door on a potential return to Europe.

“The Saudi league is better than MLS,” Ronaldo told reporters after Al Nassr’s 5-0 preseason loss to LaLiga side Celta Vigo in his native Portugal.

“They criticized me for coming to Saudi League, but what happened now?

“I opened the way to the Saudi league, and now all the players are coming here,” he said.

Ronaldo was forced to join Al Nassr in the Saudi League in January following his acrimonious contract termination at Manchester United. The Portuguese forward criticised the club and its manager Erik ten Hag in an interview with Piers Morgan which led to a complete breakdown in relationship between the two parties.

In this transfer window several high-profile players have followed Ronaldo’s lead, with Karim Benzema, Marcelo Brozovic, N’Golo Kante, Roberto Firmino, Edouard Mendy, and Kalidou Koulibaly all signing deals to play in the Saudi Pro League.

“My decision to join Saudi clubs was 100% crucial to bring in new top players. It’s a fact. In one year, more & more top players will come to Saudi,” said Ronaldo.

“In a year Saudi league will overtake the Turkish league and Dutch league. Players who arrived aren’t like what the president of the European Union said. Jota & Ruben Neves are young players”.

Ronaldo also fired a shot at the European football saying it has lost quality and he will never return to Europe.

“I’m 100 percent sure I won’t return to any European club,” Ronaldo said.

“I’m 38 years old. And European football has lost a lot of quality. The only valid one and still doing good is the Premier League. They’re way ahead of all the other leagues.”

The highest international goalscorer also went on to claim that the Serie A was dead untill he was signed for Juventus.

“When I joined Juventus, Serie A was dead and then after I signed… it was revived. Wherever Cristiano goes he generates higher interest”.