At the end of 2022, Cristiano Ronaldo terminated his contract Manchester United sign for him Nasser, Saudi professional league team. This action That For many people this is interpreted as semi-retirement at the age of 37, He made the Portuguese star the first world-class player to reach the league, which until now had seemed an uninteresting destination for the best players of the era.
A year later, the UAE increased its investment and even became the second most expensive event in the transfer market last summer. The goal of the Saudi government is clear: to build the Saudi Professional League into a league that is attractive to the world.
Before Cristiano, there were few big-name players in the league. After the arrival of the Portuguese, acquaintances from La Liga and the Premier League also joinedsuch as Frenchmen Benzema and Kante, Brazilian Neymar, former Liverpool forward Firmino and Mane, or Spanish Gabri Vega.
The paradox of the Saudi league
Contrary to expectations of golden retirement, many players who landed in the Saudi Professional League in the summer have continued to be called up by the national team. The selectors remain confident in them despite the lower league level. What was once special is now common.
Last season the Saudi league had 77 players from one of the top 20 teams in FIFA’s rankings. Only five have played with their senior squad across the entire pitch, including the World Cup. This season, the number of top 20 players in the national team has increased to 8516 players have featured for their national teams in one of the first two international windows (September and October).
The closest example is Aymeric Laporte and the Spanish national team. former player manchester city Last summer he signed with A-Nassr, although he plays in a lower league than A-Nassr. Prime Ministerspanish coach, Luis de la Fuentecontinue to call him the starting central defender, He is unlikely to lose his position. The centre-back missed last Thursday’s match against Spain due to injury but has been a starter for the remainder of the European Championship qualifiers.
The change in the proportion of players playing at least one minute for each of the top 20 FIFA rankings this season compared to the previous season.
Analysis of Spain and Portugal’s Neighboring Countries, Cristiano played everything and Ruben Neves played the full 90 minutes against Liechtenstein last Thursday. Although Ottavio was on the bench in the previous game, He is a regular in the coaching rotation Roberto Martinez.
in Brazil, IStar Neymar and defender Roger Ibáñez played a few minutes with the team in South America’s World Cup qualifiers. In addition, England also called up Henderson for the group stage of the European Cup qualifiers, as did Belgium and Yannick Carrasco. Morocco continues to call up former Sevilla goalkeeper Yassine Bono and give him playing time. Even though these players play in Saudi Arabia, they are still an important part of the national team.
Midway through his second season since joining the Saudi Professional League, Cristiano Ronaldo’s influence continues to reverberate, with what initially seemed like a unique chapter in the striker’s career has now transformed into the Arab League A catalyst for transformation, transforming in a compelling way. A destination for world-renowned players.
