When pressed on his thoughts on football in Saudi Arabia when compared to Europe in an interview with Sky Sports, Cristiano Ronaldo was diplomatic with his answer, preferring to look to the future of the Saudi Pro League; “The league is very good, but I think we have many, many opportunities to keep growing,” he said.
“The league is competitive. We have very good teams, very good Arab players. But they need to improve the infrastructure a little bit more. Even the referees, the VAR system… they should be a little bit faster.”
“I think there are other little things they need to improve. But I’m happy here, I want to stay here, I will stay here. In my opinion, if they continue to do the job they want to do here for the next five years, I think the Saudi league can be one of the top five leagues in the world.”
Further difference Ronaldo has had to adjust to is the time of day that training takes place, with the climate not conducive to early-morning exertion.
“One example is that in Europe we train more in the morning, but here we train in the afternoon, or at night… and in Ramadan, we train at 10 o’clock at night.”
“This is very strange, but as I say, these situations are part of an experience, memories. I like to live these moments because you learn from these things.
“It’s difficult, but it’s nothing I haven’t seen before. My experience so far is that Saudi fans really love football.”
The Saudi Pro League hosts a number of Ghanaian players including Kotoko player Mudasiru Salifu whose side got relegated this season from the league.
