Ronaldo publicly criticized Messi's MLS league, saying it's far inferior to the Saudi Pro League.

Ronaldo scored a brace in Al Nassr's 4-0 victory over Al Wasl (UAE) in the AFC Champions League Elite group stage on February 4th. This win brought the Portuguese star, who will turn 40 on February 5th, to a total of 923 career goals, further close to reaching the milestone of 1,000 goals.

Ronaldo continued to score goals, bringing his career total to 923 as of February 4th.

"When I decided to come here (Saudi Pro League), I didn't think the league would develop so quickly. In the next year or two, this league will reach even greater heights."

People don't know, they think and talk too much. I apologize for the difference in reality when people talk about Saudi Arabia and when they talk about America. Is MLS a worse league than the Saudi Pro League? Obviously it is, but because it's Saudi Arabia, it's looked down upon," Ronaldo asserted in a recent interview with journalist Edu Aguirre on La Sexta (Spain).

Previously, Ronaldo publicly criticized Ligue 1 (France), saying it couldn't compare to the Saudi Pro League. However, the league has consistently responded to the Portuguese star's criticism through superior viewership, competitiveness, and television appeal compared to the Saudi Arabian league.

The Saudi Pro League has spent heavily on player transfers in the past two years since Ronaldo joined. However, competition is concentrated among the top four or five clubs, most of which are owned by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund. These are Al Hilal, Al Ittihad, Al Ahli, and Al Nassr, where Ronaldo currently plays. In the 2024-2025 season, Al Qadsiah, owned by Saudi Aramco, a major Saudi oil company, has emerged as a strong contender.

Despite significant spending and the recent signing of Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran for over $80 million, the Saudi Pro League has failed to attract large audiences.

Messi has taken a completely different path from Ronaldo, moving to MLS to enjoy the remainder of his career.

On average, matches here attract between 6,000 and 7,000 spectators. Notably, one match had only 315 viewers (the Al Riyadh Club's 2-0 victory over Al Khaleej on January 9th). The highest attendance was for the Al Ittihad vs. Al Nassr match on December 6th, 2024, which saw 55,120 spectators.

In MLS, Messi's presence greatly enhances the league's appeal. Most matches featuring the Argentinian star attract huge crowds. In the 2024 season, the American league broke viewership records with over 11.2 million spectators, averaging 23,371 spectators per game.

Ahead of the 2025 season, Messi and his teammates continued to create a sensation in their training matches, such as the game against Club America on January 19th which attracted 45,262 spectators, the match against Universitario in Peru on January 30th with 80,000 viewers, and the recent 3-1 victory against Sporting San Miguelito in Panama with 32,000 spectators filling the stadium.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ronaldo-cong-khai-che-giai-mls-cua-messi-thua-xa-saudi-pro-league-185250204085627179.htm