Cristiano Ronaldo referenced Jota’s move to the Saudi League in a recent interview, where he claimed that the Saudi League is superior to the MLS.
For most Celtic fans, Jota’s surprise move to the Saudi League was a blow and a shock. Jota had played such a crucial role in Celtic’s success last season, so it was understandably hard to see him leave. Although, it’s worth mentioning that the upset was somewhat weathered by Jota’s £25 million price tag. In any case, it has been a busy transfer window for the Saudi clubs, as they have worked tirelessly to bring in more players from Europe and improve the league. Names like Karim Benzema and N’golo Kante have been brought to the Saudi League to further boost the league’s prestige.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who is unarguably one of football’s greats, has credited himself with opening the doorway for all of these European players to enter the Saudi League and namedrops Jota as an example of this. Ronaldo made his move to the Saudi club of Al Nassr in December of last year to become the highest-paying footballer ever, earning £173 million a year. On the other hand, Ronaldo’s biggest rival, Lionel Messi has just made his move to the MLS following his exit from PSG. In reply to this, Ronaldo claims that the Saudi League is better than the MLS. As reported by GlasgowLive, Ronaldo said…
“The Saudi league is better than MLS. Now all the players are coming here. In one year, more top players will come to Saudi Arabia.
“I opened the way to the Saudi league, and now all the players are coming here. I’m 100 per cent sure I won’t return to any European club. I’m 38 years old.
“European football has lost a lot of quality. The only valid one and still doing good is the (English) Premier League. They’re way ahead of all the other leagues. My decision to join Saudi clubs was 100% crucial to bring in new top players. It’s a fact.
“When I joined Juventus, Serie A was dead and then after I signed… it was revived. Wherever Cristiano goes he generates higher interest. They criticised me for coming to Saudi League, but what happened now? 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 and Ruben Neves are young players.”
Jota’s skill and ability are undoubtedly fantastic, so it is completely understandable that Ronaldo would use his move to the Saudi League to attempt to one-up Messi. Although, after Messi captained Argentina to win the World Cup in Qatar last year, the rivalry just doesn’t quite seem the same.
