Saudi Pro League Is Better Than French Ligue 1 – Cristiano Ronaldo Insists

Portuguese football icon, Cristiano Ronaldo has stressed that the Saudi Pro League is better than the French Ligue 1.

Cristiano Ronaldo who stated this after winning multiple awards in the Globe Soccer Awards on Friday, January 19, said he can attest to how good the league is after playing there for one year.

Recall that the 36-year-old five times Ballon d’Or winner joined the Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr less than two months after Manchester United terminated his contract for publicly criticizing the club.

From January to December 2023, Cristiano Ronaldo scored a whopping 44 goals for Al Nassr and ended the year as the highest goalscorer in the world when the ten goals he scored for Portugal were added to his goals tally.

Even though Ronaldo who has played in the Premier League, Spanish La Liga, and Italian Serie A, has never played in the French Ligue 1, he concluded that the Saudi Pro League is more competitive than the French league.

He said, “To be honest, I think the Saudi championship isn’t worse than the French championship. I think it’s more competitive.

“They can say what they want, it’s just my opinion. I have played there for a year so I know what I’m talking about.

“I think that now we are better than the French championship and we continue to improve.”

This is not the first time a top player who moved to the Saudi Pro League from a European club has had to compare the French Ligue 1 to the Saudi Pro League.

Though the French Ligue 1 is counted as one of the best five leagues in Europe, Neymar who joined Saudi Pro League club, Al-Hilal from Paris Saint Germain last year, said the Saudi League could be better than the French Ligue 1.

“In my opinion, with the names that have moved to Saudi Arabia, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Saudi Pro League is better than France’s Ligue 1”, the BBC quoted Neymar as saying in 2023.

“I can assure you the football in Saudi Arabia is the same. The ball is round and we have goalposts. 

“My thirst to win is still big. I want to win trophies with Al-Hilal. I have not changed in that sense.”