Even when he was away from Europe, Lionel Messi was on his mind.안전놀이터
Reuters published an interview with Cristiano Ronaldo on Aug. 28 (KST). Ronaldo’s Al Nasr lost 0-5 to Celta Vigo in a preseason friendly on the same day.
After the game, Ronaldo said, “The Saudi league is better than MLS (Major League Soccer). Now all the big soccer players will come to Saudi Arabia. In a year from now, more top stars will compete here.”
Ronaldo left Manchester United last November. It didn’t go well.
Unhappy with his playing time, Ronaldo became disruptive to the team, leaving the pitch without permission during training. He even got into a verbal altercation with coach Eric ten Hagh.
He went on TV to publicly snipe at United, who eventually released him. They allowed him to become a free agent without any conditions.
Ronaldo showed a high level of goal determination in Saudi Arabia.
No team in Europe wanted him. At this time, Saudi Arabia’s Al Nasr reached out.
Al Nasr signed Ronaldo to a two-and-a-half-year contract and paid him more than 200 million euros (about KRW 282 billion) in salary alone.
Ronaldo became the highest-paid soccer player in the world. After his move to Al Nasr, he scored 14 goals in 16 games.
He wasn’t quite at his best, but he was still scoring goals. However, Al Nasr finished second in the league and failed to win the title.
Unlike Ronaldo, Lionel Messi signed with Inter Miami in the United States.
As Ronaldo said, a number of star players from Europe decided to head to Saudi Arabia this summer. Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Kalidou Koulibaly, Robert Firmino, Jordan Henderson, Leo Varane, Édouard Mendy, and many others will play in Saudi Arabia starting next season. Several others are currently in contract negotiations.
Ronaldo expects more players to come to Saudi Arabia in the future. He”s also ruled out returning to Europe for the rest of his career. He no longer believes that Europe is the center of world soccer.
“I’m not going back to Europe as a soccer player. I’m 100% sure of that. The European leagues are not what they used to be. They have lost their power, except for the Premier League.”