Ronaldo vs Messi: Comparing Saudi Pro League With the MLS Across 2 Aspects

• Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi's rivalry continues even though both feature in different leagues
• The Ballon d'Or titans have continued to produce incredible performances for their respective clubs
• Ronaldo once called the Saudi Pro League is better than MLS and Sports Brief determines the truth

Portuguese sensation, Cristiano Ronaldo, recently set the internet space agog when he stated the Saudi Pro League is better than Major League Soccer.

The Al-Nassr captain made the comments while speaking with the media after La Liga side, Celta Vigo, thrashed his team 5-0 in a friendly match played in Portugal in July.

This came shortly after Lionel Messi had completed his transfer from Ligue 1 champions, Paris Saint-Germain, to Inter Miami in the American top flight.

Ronaldo was asked about a potential move to the MLS in future, but the five-time Ballon d’Or winner emphatically ruled it out, saying the league in Saudi Arabia was superior.

Who is the GOAT of soccer? Messi, Cr7, Pele, Maradona, Johan Cruyff, Ronaldo Nazário, Ronaldinho

Football

Comparing Saudi Pro League to MLS

Since Ronaldo moved to the Middle East in December 2022, businessmen from the Gulf nation have continued to disrupt the global football transfer market.

The former Real Madrid striker received the highest football salary in history, worth €200 million annually. He was also reportedly paid a signing-on bonus of around €100 million.

Football transfer expert, Fabrizio Romano, disclosed at the time that Ronaldo rejected a move to Major League Soccer club, Sporting Kansas City, to instead join Al-Nassr.

Some of the biggest stars have also landed mega-money deals in the Arab nation, including Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kante, Edouard Mendy, Sadio Mane, and Neymar Junior.

SPL versus MLS: player quality

There have been significant changes in the quality of players in the MLS over the last 16 years, which only serve to highlight the brilliance of Messi.

Limitations, mostly due to small salary budgets imposed on American and Canadian clubs, keep quality from improving in giant strides, per Bleacher Report.

Lionel Messi mocked by influencer Receba with brutal comparison to Cristiano Ronaldo

Football

However, Saudi’s mission has been on a different level altogether as officials continue to offer effective 'blank cheques' to land some of the biggest stars in world football - at least for now.

SPL vs MLS: viewership and global attention

The MLS has been broadcast nationally in the United States since the league's inception in 1996 and in Canada since 2007. In 2023, Apple TV gained the sole broadcast rights for the league.

Granted, the US league does not have significant viewership figures either. The average viewership numbers of MLS in 2022 were 343,000, Foot The Ball reports.

The all-time Saudi Arabia League of Legends team viewership record is 159 103, but the numbers spiked in 2023 to about 800,000, with many crediting Ronaldo for the surge.

As per the latest figures, the total number of spectators in MLS in the 2023 season was 7,011,953.

Messi becoming hero in New York

How top summer signings in Saudi League performed as Mane scores, Benzema grabs assist

Football

Sports Brief also reported on football fans at Times Square watching Messi as he scored on his MLS debut for Inter Miami in the game against the New York Red Bulls.

The thousands of fans at the iconic location went into a frenzy when he entered the match as a 60-th minute substitute, after arriving to watch on the screens.