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Portugal international Cristiano Ronaldo explained what makes the Saudi Pro League so attractive.
Al-Nassr’s superstar Cristiano Ronaldo recently gave some reasons why players leave European football for the Saudi Pro League, and his insight lent credence to the popular notion that the financial benefit of moving to the Gulf is the chief factor.
The Saudi Arabian league is one of the biggest in Asia, and while it is fair to tag it an already established league before the advent of Cristiano Ronaldo, with big Super Eagles stars like Odion Ighalo and Ahmed Musa having plied their trade there, the Portuguese is the pioneer of the current wave.
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16:28 - 28.08.2024
Not going anywhere - Ronaldo claims he is not retiring from football anytime soon
Cristiano Ronaldo has claimed that he does not plan to retire from football anytime soon, despite his age.
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17:10 - 28.08.2024
‘An insecure crybaby'—Angry fans blast Ronaldo after mocking the late Pele
Social media fans have slammed Cristiano Ronaldo after the Portuguese made a mockery of the late Brazilian legend Pele.
The 39-year-old shocked the world when he accepted Al-Nassr's offer of a two-and-a-half-year contract worth a reported $200 million annually in January 2023, following the termination of his contract at Manchester United.
What followed was the SPL attracting other top stars like Sadio Mane, Karim Benzema, Neymar, Riyad Mahrez, N'golo Kante, Fabinho, Kalidou Koilibaly, and many more. They are also primed for more, having recently signed Joao Cancelo from Manchester City and in negotiations with Victor Osimhen for a sensational transfer.
What Ronaldo said
The former Juventus forward recently launched his YouTube channel, which reached milestones in record time. He released the first part of a two-part interview with his former teammate Rio Ferdinand on the channel, in which he discussed his move to Al Nassr and what he has inspired.
Ronaldo believes he had a part to play in the mass migration of European stars to the Saudi League. However, he admitted that the huge wages and tax breaks obtainable in the oil-rich nation were the major pull.
“I knew the players would follow me; I knew it,” Ronaldo told Ferdinand. “Not only in terms of the financial, which is obviously the main point, you can say, but as well the culture of football.
“I knew the culture of Saudi football was nice because I have friends who played there before; coaches, Portuguese coaches were there, of course. Did I expect that the big stars would move there so quickly? No. But I expected that the football would change because of me.”
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