There is absolutely no doubt that the plundering of some of Europe’s top talent from the teams in the Saudi League has ruffled a few feathers across Europe.
Their ability to, seemingly, easily tempt names like Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante to strut their stuff in the Middle East has caught all the major teams across the continent by surprise.
And now, a league that was thought of as a retiring ground for players looking for one last payday, has been defended by Portuguese icon, Cristiano Ronaldo.
In a series of tweets by Fabrizio Romano, Ronaldo defended the quality of the Saudi League and looked to change the narrative surrounding the Pro League by referencing the recent acquisition of former Celtic winger, Jota.
Jota signed for Al-Ittihad in a deal that would see the former fan favourite earn over £190k per week [Football Scotland] and bank Celtic £17.5m after Benfica’s 30% sell-on clause is settled.
Speaking after his side, Al-Nassr was trounced 5-0 by Celta Vigo in a pre-season friendly, Ronaldo said, “The Saudi league is better than the MLS. I’m 100 per cent sure I won’t return to any European club. I opened the way to the Saudi league and now all the players are coming here.
“I won’t return to European football, the door is completely closed.
“I’m 38-years-old, also European football has lost a lot of quality. The only league that for me has a lot of quality and is at a higher level than all the others is the Premier League.
“The Spanish league does not have that great quality. The Portuguese league is a good league, but it is not a top, top league. The German league I think has also lost a lot. I’m sure I won’t play in Europe again. I want to play in Saudi Arabia.
“In one year, more and more top players will come to Saudi. In a year the 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 Neves are young players.”
Let’s not kid ourselves here. If Jota was offered the same salary he was on at Celtic to play in Saudi Arabia, does anyone think he would have moved? Or any other player that has made the same move this summer?
Of course not. The kind of money that Jota is on now is absolutely life-changing and could set himself and generations of his family up for years to come.
The only advantage Jota has, as Ronaldo points out, is that when his contract is up in three years time, he will still be young enough to earn a move to Europe to at least continue where he left off at Celtic and try to win more silverware.
In other news, The hilarious side to Daizen Maeda as Yokohama star talks up Celtic (67hailhail.com)
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