'Saudi league is better than MLS,' says Cristiano Ronaldo

The rivalry between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi remains intact even with the soccer stars now plying their trade in different continents.

One day after Messi, the 36-year-old Argentinian forward, was officially signed by Major League Soccer's Inter Miami, Ronaldo took a verbal shot at his longtime foe, maintaining that his new league in Saudi Arabia is better than MLS.

Ronaldo, the veteran Portuguese forward, joined Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr earlier this year.

Ronaldo said Monday, according to Lisbon sports newspaper A Bola, "Returning to Europe, for me, is a closed possibility, I'm already 38 1/2 years old and ... it's not worth it."

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"Europe lost a lot of quality. The only one that is one of the best is the Premier League, the Spanish league lost its level, the Portuguese one is not 'top,' the German one also lost a lot of quality. The USA? No, the Saudi championship is much better than the USA."

Since Ronaldo's arrival, the Saudi league has also attracted other international stars such as France's Karim Benzema and N'Golo Kante, Brazil's Roberto Firmino, Senegal's Edouard Mendy, Serbia's Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Croatia's Marcelo Brozovic.

Ronaldo added, "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."

Ronaldo made his remarks after Al Nassr lost 5-0 in a preseason friendly against Spanish top-division side Celta Vigo at Faro, Portugal.

Field Level Media via Reuters