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Cristiano Ronaldo speaks on his transfer move to Al Nassr.
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Portugal star admits he has been ‘positively surprised’ by the level since joining Al-Nassr.
Since joining Al Nassr in January, Cristiano Ronaldo says he has been astonished by the quality of competition in the Saudi Pro League.
Ronaldo moved to Saudi Arabia following his dramatic departure from Manchester United in November when he left by mutual consent following his explosive tell-all interview with Piers Morgan.
The 38-year-old has scored nine goals in ten appearances for Al-Nassr since signing a £175 million-a-year contract with the club, including two hat-tricks.
While many have questioned the quality of the Saudi Pro League, Ronaldo thinks it has the potential to one day rank among the top five in the world for competition.
‘I think you should look at the (Saudi Pro League) in a different way,’ he told reporters on Wednesday. ‘I’m not going to say that the league is a Premier League, that would be a lie.
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‘But it’s a very competitive league that I’m positively surprised by, a very balanced league and good teams.
‘I am sure that in the coming years the league will be … the fourth, fifth or sixth most competitive league in the world,’ added Ronaldo, who moved to Al-Nassr on a two-and-a-half-year contract.
Ronaldo is part of the Portugal squad for their Euro 2024 qualifiers against Liechtenstein later on Thursday and Luxembourg on Sunday.
The 38-year-old, who was benched by former coach Fernando Santos for their last two games at the World Cup, would make his 197th appearance for Portugal if he plays against Liechtenstein, surpassing Kuwait’s Bader Al-Mutawa as the most capped player in men’s football.
‘I like to break records, I have broken lot of records …,’ said Ronaldo, who debuted for Portugal in 2003.
‘In addition to being the best scorer ever for national teams, I was also looking to be the international player with the most caps.’