Cristiano Ronaldo hopeful of more top players coming to Saudi Arabia

Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has said that he is enjoying his time in Saudi Arabia and is hopeful that more top internationals would come to the kingdom.  

In an interview, Ronaldo shared that despite his initial nervousness, he is enjoying his time in Saudi Arabia and expects other top players to join him in the league next season.

Ronaldo had signed for Al Nassr towards the end of last year in a deal believed to be worth more than 200 million euros. The 38-year-old penned a contract which will take him to June 2025.

He notched up 14 goals in 16 games but it could not help his side claim the Saudi Pro League (SPL) title, with Al Nassr finishing second behind Al Ittihad.

"We have very good teams, very good Arab players, but the infrastructure — they need to improve a little bit more. Even the referees, the VAR system, should be a little quicker," Ronaldo said in an SPL interview.

"But I'm happy here, I want to continue here, I will continue here."

Ronaldo also spoke about the difference in training routines in Saudi Arabia as compared to Europe.

"In Europe, we train more in the morning, but here we train in the afternoon or night. When you start Ramadan, we train at 10:00pm. It was so strange," he added.

Since Ronaldo's arrival, several other top players, including Lionel Messi and Karim Benzema, have received offers from Saudi Arabia.

"If they are coming, big players and big names, young players, 'old players', they are very welcome," said Ronaldo.

"If that happens, the league will improve a little bit. Age is not important."