Saudi Professional League 2023/2024

[KTChampions]

Yes, this is likely because Messi is no longer at the top level in Europe and must go somewhere. But I think it would be very risky to get him because he is good when the team is good and plays for him, otherwise I'm not sure that he will be able to show at least what Ronaldo shows being two years older. But maybe sheikhs don't care - they have endless money.

Messi has more skills and his playing style are more helpful to expand his career longer than Ronaldo. However no people, no players can win against ageing forever. Especially in sports, football at highest levels. Federer, Nadal in tennis failed and Ronaldo failed too.

Messi is younger than Ronaldo and he is still hot with Saudi clubs which are very rich. They want to have Messi and can give him very good salary. It is not easy for any player to reject an offer that can help them receiving a few hundres of $ million. If you can earn such big money within 2 or 3 seasons, rejecting it is very hard decision.

No, on the contrary Messi's style of play is not at all suitable for aging. Even in his best years, he was always criticized for a small amount of work in the center of the field (in confrontations with Bayern, for example, Neuer ran a distance comparable to Messi) and now this problem is only exacerbated as other qualities are also deteriorating. I think Messi has no chance to keep up with other players who played well even in old age.

[rahmad2nd]

On the other hand, I don't blame Ronaldo. but it seems, Ronaldo needs more time to adapt to the Saudi Pro League style of football. one more, like you said. Ronaldo arrived in the middle of the season, so it's only natural that he couldn't live up to the expectations of the Al Nassr supporters.

Well, adaptation is the softest word one can use to comment on what happened to him but it's not really that, because if he needed adaptation he would not have scored a hat-trick in the last few games and his total goals scored in 16 games is 14 meaning he has quite a good rating at his club, but to put hope in just one person for a team sport is a bit of stupidity and obviously impossible, what happened is Al Nassr failed and it has to be accepted maybe not because they are not good enough this season but because the others team have been better at competing this season, and Ronaldo is a human not a robot who can always be on top because even a robot can error and experience a decrease, and actually there is also a big tournament that will be played by Al Nassr and the focus on that tournament is the Asian champions league will be better because maybe they will be able to achieve more there.

IMO, scoring a hat trick is not an ideal benchmark. because after all how many goals Ronaldo scores in one match. the points remained the same, they only accumulated 3 points. then, why is Ronaldo unable to score goals in every match. that's why, he needs better Chemistry from his teammates. let's see, that the average Al Nassr player is a player who has a slightly better level than the other teams competing in the Saudi Pro League.

In addition, the change of coach at the end of the season forced the players to adapt again to the new system. the result, in two matches Al Nassr lost. yes, as I said before. that's why, I say, at least he needs more time with the Al Nassr players and the coach as well. well, related to language is also a problem for foreign players competing in this competition and Ronaldo is no exception. he also has to adapt not only on the field, but off the field.
well, it doesn't mean that Al Nassr has his hopes only on Ronaldo. we know, in football there are eleven players. teamwork, will be indispensable. here, we will see how the system is applied by the coach. as a center forward, Ronaldo's job is to break into his opponent's goal. after all, Ronaldo is paid to score goals. So, it's only natural that fans have high hopes for a megastar of his caliber.

[n0ne]

Ronaldo recently said that the Saudi Professional League could become a force and will be among the top five leagues in the world. But he also said that they are literally lacking players and infrastructure. Now how will that ever be sustainable when they need to pay a few hundred million in salaries per year in order to convince the stars to go there? The sheikhs would be better off buying their clubs in the European leagues and go from there. Establishing the SPL as one of the top five leagues is a bottomless pit.

Reaching the top 5 position on the list of popular football leagues were really tough. The leagues played on Europe have got big history followed by the follower base. Saudi Arabia Pro League have got big history, but the player involvement is very minimal. Maybe over the years the participation of more world class players will make it more popular. The participation of Ronaldo itself have added more popularity to the league. For his presence a good number of people have started watching it. When more such players make contract with different teams, the league becomes more popular. However reaching within the five is still a question?

[TelolettOm]

Messi has more skills and his playing style are more helpful to expand his career longer than Ronaldo. However no people, no players can win against ageing forever. Especially in sports, football at highest levels. Federer, Nadal in tennis failed and Ronaldo failed too.

Messi is younger than Ronaldo and he is still hot with Saudi clubs which are very rich. They want to have Messi and can give him very good salary. It is not easy for any player to reject an offer that can help them receiving a few hundres of $ million. If you can earn such big money within 2 or 3 seasons, rejecting it is very hard decision.

More skills and playing style won't guarantee Messi to have a longer career than Ronaldo. What if he is getting often to be injured? In many cases, fitness makes a player retire sooner. If you compare Messi and Ronaldo, it is clear that Ronaldo has better fitness although he is older. Ronaldo seems to continue his career above 40 years old. While Messi, I'm not sure he can play more than 5 years from now.

Indeed. Some top clubs in Saudi are interested to sign Messi and they can make offers with huge money. However, we don't know whether it makes Messi interested or not. Not every player wants to play in Saudi Pro League and money isn't everything for a rich player like Messi. Messi has the option to move to another club in Europa or return to his country.

[shogun47]

Ronaldo recently said that the Saudi Professional League could become a force and will be among the top five leagues in the world. But he also said that they are literally lacking players and infrastructure. Now how will that ever be sustainable when they need to pay a few hundred million in salaries per year in order to convince the stars to go there? The sheikhs would be better off buying their clubs in the European leagues and go from there. Establishing the SPL as one of the top five leagues is a bottomless pit.

Reaching the top 5 position on the list of popular football leagues were really tough. The leagues played on Europe have got big history followed by the follower base. Saudi Arabia Pro League have got big history, but the player involvement is very minimal. Maybe over the years the participation of more world class players will make it more popular. The participation of Ronaldo itself have added more popularity to the league. For his presence a good number of people have started watching it. When more such players make contract with different teams, the league becomes more popular. However reaching within the five is still a question?

One major problem for the Saudi Professional League is that not may professional players would want to live there for many years. Many professional players appreciate the Western free lifestyle. They would go there for two or three years and some maybe longer, but it will take a lot of time in my opinion until young talents would decide to go to the SPL before they had a great career in Europe, living in England or Spain or other places. Is is also the whole European socer ecosystem that you can't quickly copy with a few billion dollars. Ronaldo says that about SPL becoming top 5 because it is his job to do that. When you get paid half a billion dollars, why not just say it and then think who cares. He probably knows it is not realistic. SPL would have to be among England, Spain, Germany, Italy and maybe France or Portugal. We are not even talking about Argentina or Brazil yet.

[hd49728]

One major problem for the Saudi Professional League is that not may professional players would want to live there for many years.

Big star and super star players only join such leagues when they are old enough. Like Ronaldo joined them when he lost his position in top leagues in Europe. Some players joined them because of money when they are younger than Ronaldo but they are not at same level and quality of Ronaldo.

Many professional players appreciate the Western free lifestyle. They would go there for two or three years and some maybe longer

Lifestyle difference is another thing that is not like by Western players when they are young. They will want to enjoy their free life in Western countries than in Arabian countries with many strict rules because of their religion.

More skills and playing style won't guarantee Messi to have a longer career than Ronaldo. What if he is getting often to be injured? In many cases, fitness makes a player retire sooner. If you compare Messi and Ronaldo, it is clear that Ronaldo has better fitness although he is older. Ronaldo seems to continue his career above 40 years old. While Messi, I'm not sure he can play more than 5 years from now.

Skills are helpful and I know about risk of serious injury. With old players, a serious injury can terminate their career any time. If Messi won't have serious injury, he will have a long career and his style can help him to reduce injuries he might get. He got many injuries when he was young but in later of his career, he changed his style an more wisely on field to avoid tackles. Like we see Messi got less injuries than Neymar and I believe he will not lose his skills in Saudi Arabia League.

Ronaldo is also smart to avoid injuries too but even he succeeds, he was not able to get a body like his twenties or early thirties. Messi will face similar body problems next 2 or 4 years.

[Juggy777]

Ronaldo recently said that the Saudi Professional League could become a force and will be among the top five leagues in the world. But he also said that they are literally lacking players and infrastructure. Now how will that ever be sustainable when they need to pay a few hundred million in salaries per year in order to convince the stars to go there? The sheikhs would be better off buying their clubs in the European leagues and go from there. Establishing the SPL as one of the top five leagues is a bottomless pit.

Reaching the top 5 position on the list of popular football leagues were really tough. The leagues played on Europe have got big history followed by the follower base. Saudi Arabia Pro League have got big history, but the player involvement is very minimal. Maybe over the years the participation of more world class players will make it more popular. The participation of Ronaldo itself have added more popularity to the league. For his presence a good number of people have started watching it. When more such players make contract with different teams, the league becomes more popular. However reaching within the five is still a question?

One major problem for the Saudi Professional League is that not may professional players would want to live there for many years. Many professional players appreciate the Western free lifestyle. They would go there for two or three years and some maybe longer, but it will take a lot of time in my opinion until young talents would decide to go to the SPL before they had a great career in Europe, living in England or Spain or other places. Is is also the whole European socer ecosystem that you can't quickly copy with a few billion dollars. Ronaldo says that about SPL becoming top 5 because it is his job to do that. When you get paid half a billion dollars, why not just say it and then think who cares. He probably knows it is not realistic. SPL would have to be among England, Spain, Germany, Italy and maybe France or Portugal. We are not even talking about Argentina or Brazil yet.

@shogun47 there’s nothing wrong with his statement as he’s justifying to his fan’s why he’s playing there and his dream can turn into reality if he can continuously convince star player’s who’re in their prime to come and play there. Also as we saw that the rules were relaxed for him and I believe that Saudi will offer the same relaxation to other foreign player’s which will further improve their leagues image and attract the top talent in the long run.

[romero121]

Ronaldo recently said that the Saudi Professional League could become a force and will be among the top five leagues in the world. But he also said that they are literally lacking players and infrastructure. Now how will that ever be sustainable when they need to pay a few hundred million in salaries per year in order to convince the stars to go there? The sheikhs would be better off buying their clubs in the European leagues and go from there. Establishing the SPL as one of the top five leagues is a bottomless pit.

Reaching the top 5 position on the list of popular football leagues were really tough. The leagues played on Europe have got big history followed by the follower base. Saudi Arabia Pro League have got big history, but the player involvement is very minimal. Maybe over the years the participation of more world class players will make it more popular. The participation of Ronaldo itself have added more popularity to the league. For his presence a good number of people have started watching it. When more such players make contract with different teams, the league becomes more popular. However reaching within the five is still a question?

One major problem for the Saudi Professional League is that not may professional players would want to live there for many years. Many professional players appreciate the Western free lifestyle. They would go there for two or three years and some maybe longer, but it will take a lot of time in my opinion until young talents would decide to go to the SPL before they had a great career in Europe, living in England or Spain or other places. Is is also the whole European socer ecosystem that you can't quickly copy with a few billion dollars. Ronaldo says that about SPL becoming top 5 because it is his job to do that. When you get paid half a billion dollars, why not just say it and then think who cares. He probably knows it is not realistic. SPL would have to be among England, Spain, Germany, Italy and maybe France or Portugal. We are not even talking about Argentina or Brazil yet.

@shogun47 there’s nothing wrong with his statement as he’s justifying to his fan’s why he’s playing there and his dream can turn into reality if he can continuously convince star player’s who’re in their prime to come and play there. Also as we saw that the rules were relaxed for him and I believe that Saudi will offer the same relaxation to other foreign player’s which will further improve their leagues image and attract the top talent in the long run.

Being on the King rule, giving relaxation to the foreign players never be a big issue. Already Ronaldo is enjoying the exception of live in relationship which according to Saudi Arabia is against their law. However the lifestyle of what they enjoy in European countries can't be expected to happen in Saudi Arabia. The transition is slowly happening in Saudi Arabia, maybe in the future we can expect big changes. For now the government is much focused on improving the country's economy through sport, traditional and tourism activities. So, we can expect something better than now in the next season of Saudi Arabia Pro League.

[rojan]

The match between Damac vs Al-Shabab is going to start in Saudi Professional League. It is not clear which team will win between these two teams. But I think Al-Shabab team is ahead in the points table for which Al-Shabab team is in this match. There is a big chance to win. And if Al-Shabab performs badly then Al-Shabab can't win this match. Maybe the match can be a draw. Damac team plays very well in every match but wait to see what they will do in this match.

[bitzizzix]

The match between Damac vs Al-Shabab is going to start in Saudi Professional League. It is not clear which team will win between these two teams. But I think Al-Shabab team is ahead in the points table for which Al-Shabab team is in this match. There is a big chance to win. And if Al-Shabab performs badly then Al-Shabab can't win this match. Maybe the match can be a draw. Damac team plays very well in every match but wait to see what they will do in this match.

I think Al Shabab will definitely win over Damac, and if you look at the results of the Damac match
have inconsistent performance. And from 29 matches, only 9 wins, 9 draws and 11 defeats are in 7th position of the standings with 36 points.
Meanwhile, Al Shabab in 29 matches, Al Shabab managed to record 16 wins, 5 draws and 8 defeats, which made them occupy 4th place in the standings with 53 points. And with this result I feel that Al Shabab has the upper hand, and even though Damac is not an easy opponent, in the end they will still lose even if they play at home. And maybe the score will be 1-2.

[Josefjix]

More skills and playing style won't guarantee Messi to have a longer career than Ronaldo. What if he is getting often to be injured? In many cases, fitness makes a player retire sooner. If you compare Messi and Ronaldo, it is clear that Ronaldo has better fitness although he is older. Ronaldo seems to continue his career above 40 years old. While Messi, I'm not sure he can play more than 5 years from now.

Indeed. Some top clubs in Saudi are interested to sign Messi and they can make offers with huge money. However, we don't know whether it makes Messi interested or not. Not every player wants to play in Saudi Pro League and money isn't everything for a rich player like Messi. Messi has the option to move to another club in Europa or return to his country.

European football is the most prominent, gaining global reputation, and there is no doubt that they will continue to dispatch other leagues since they have what it takes to lead for a decade. Saudi Arabia performed a substantial feat by signing Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United; now their objective is Messi, and bids have already been lodged, pending responses from Messi and PSG. Leo Messi's prospects of playing till he is 40 are very limited; he appears to be older than Cristiano Ronaldo; there is a significant disparity between the two phenomenal names. The Saudi Arabia league is gaining popularity in the football world, owing to the big-names they are attempting to get in; Messi is not the only one on the list.

[Sithara007]

Being on the King rule, giving relaxation to the foreign players never be a big issue. Already Ronaldo is enjoying the exception of live in relationship which according to Saudi Arabia is against their law. However the lifestyle of what they enjoy in European countries can't be expected to happen in Saudi Arabia. The transition is slowly happening in Saudi Arabia, maybe in the future we can expect big changes. For now the government is much focused on improving the country's economy through sport, traditional and tourism activities. So, we can expect something better than now in the next season of Saudi Arabia Pro League.

On one hand, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud want Saudi Arabia to become a global sports hub. And on the other hand, the royal family wants to cling on to their customs. Both of these can't go side by side. If they want to attract the best sporting talent from around the world, then they need to change their laws. And what is the big issue if someone wants to stay in a live-in relation instead of marrying? IMO, it is better than the Saudi Arabian custom of having 3-4 wives. If Ronaldo gets fed up and quits the SPL, then the reputation of the entire Kingdom will be tarnished.

[Strongkored]

One major problem for the Saudi Professional League is that not may professional players would want to live there for many years. Many professional players appreciate the Western free lifestyle. They would go there for two or three years and some maybe longer, but it will take a lot of time in my opinion until young talents would decide to go to the SPL before they had a great career in Europe, living in England or Spain or other places. Is is also the whole European socer ecosystem that you can't quickly copy with a few billion dollars. Ronaldo says that about SPL becoming top 5 because it is his job to do that. When you get paid half a billion dollars, why not just say it and then think who cares. He probably knows it is not realistic. SPL would have to be among England, Spain, Germany, Italy and maybe France or Portugal. We are not even talking about Argentina or Brazil yet.

The problem with developing leagues there is not only because of their culture, so it will be difficult for professional players to go there where they have to comply with the culture of that country, but because leagues in Europe and Arab or Asia are under the auspices of different football organizations. Europe is under the EUFA while the league in Asia where the Saudi Pro League is under the auspices of the AFC, so the management and rules are also different but for Asia the Saudi Pro League is top in terms of number of spectators even beating the Japanese League, but I agree one that might make the reluctance of young professional players to Arabs is because of the way of life that is not the same in Arabs, and also if we judge that young players will get a big salary I don't think so, because what Ronaldo gets of course other players will not get because it turns out that the salary Ronaldo get at Al Nassr was not fully paid by the club but more of his portion was paid for by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund which also owns the Newcastle club and one of the missions of presenting Ronaldo is to improve the image of football in Saudi Arabia, so when he says things that include the league would be the best 5 in the world it makes sense because it might as well be in the contract.

Source

[shogun47]

@shogun47 there’s nothing wrong with his statement as he’s justifying to his fan’s why he’s playing there and his dream can turn into reality if he can continuously convince star player’s who’re in their prime to come and play there. Also as we saw that the rules were relaxed for him and I believe that Saudi will offer the same relaxation to other foreign player’s which will further improve their leagues image and attract the top talent in the long run.

Of course there is nothing wrong with that statement, but that doesn't mean that the statement is realistic or ever becomes true. He can say whatever he wants. But you neglected something else I said and that is it won't be sustainable. To make players go to the SPL we all know the prices they have to pay now. They themselves raised the bar so high. How much are they going to spend on players to build a "Barcelona vs. Madrid" clasico situation in the SPL? It is not possible with Messi and Ronaldo only. If they try to rebuild PSG in the SPL, that would cost them three billion dollars in salaries per year. And then? If you are a really competitive player you want to be up against the best of the best in the world. But where are they? Not in the SPL. Haaland wouldn't even have considered for a second to go to Saudi Arabia unless they offered him a billion dollars per year. It will take decades and decades until there could be a slim chance for the SPL to significantly increase in quality and public appreciation. The only reason for now is money and even that has limits for the Saudis.

[rendravolt]

Today is the last match for the SPL season and even though the competition between Al-Ittihad and Al-Nassr is no longer very attractive because Al-Ittihad has officially won the SPL this season, I hope that each team will still give a good performance to close the season. Of all the teams competing today, there may be 3 teams that I think are quite interesting to watch, namely Al-Feiha, Al-Adalh, and Al-Khaleej who are currently trying to secure a safe place from the relegation zone.

Al-Adlh and Al-Khaleej have the same 28 points and Al-Feiha has 30 points. Even though Al-Adlh and Al-Khaleej are 2 points away from Al-Feiha, if these two teams manage to win the game then Al-Feiha will be relegated this season. It will be very interesting to see that the opportunities for these 3 teams are still very wide open to qualify for the SPL next season and I am quite enthusiastic about this competition later.

[DaNNy001]

Ronaldo recently said that the Saudi Professional League could become a force and will be among the top five leagues in the world. But he also said that they are literally lacking players and infrastructure. Now how will that ever be sustainable when they need to pay a few hundred million in salaries per year in order to convince the stars to go there? The sheikhs would be better off buying their clubs in the European leagues and go from there. Establishing the SPL as one of the top five leagues is a bottomless pit.

Well I would say never say never as nothing is impossible to achieve only if the mindset of doing it is there. Well for the case of turning the SPL to one of the top leagues is something that is quite possible I believed, first the attraction of major players like the likes of Ronaldo need to be always there and paying them handsomely is another factor but like you said its all depends on the owners and management of the league for this dream to be a reality and one thing I know and beleive the Arab men for is the actual will power that pushes them to achieve all their goals.

[CryptopreneurBrainboss]

Today is the last match for the SPL season and even though the competition between Al-Ittihad and Al-Nassr is no longer very attractive because Al-Ittihad has officially won the SPL this season, I hope that each team will still give a good performance to close the season.

It was a good performance by Ronaldo to help Al Nassr secure the second position and he isn't to be blamed for not lifting the trophy with Al Nassr. Let's not forget he only cam in the second half of the season and needed time to adjust to the league still he managed to get 14 goals in the league so far and might score more today. I hate it when leagues get won while we still have games to be played. It take style whole suspense and entertainment form the game as coaches tends not to take the games seriously again and players as well unless those hoping to impress so they can draw more after to themselves.

I think Al Nassr wins Al Fateh but it's doesn't matter since it won't get them the title, I hope Cristiano Ronaldo don't get criticize for not winning the title, he can't do that alone especially as he isn't playing with the brightest of players that you'll expect the best results from them. He has done his best now he should focus on the future and see if he can leave that club back to fhe premier league as Newcastle united has secure a too 4 position. Let see if he can work with the players over there to get them to the champion league finals.

[Cryptock]

Ronaldo recently said that the Saudi Professional League could become a force and will be among the top five leagues in the world. But he also said that they are literally lacking players and infrastructure. Now how will that ever be sustainable when they need to pay a few hundred million in salaries per year in order to convince the stars to go there? The sheikhs would be better off buying their clubs in the European leagues and go from there. Establishing the SPL as one of the top five leagues is a bottomless pit.

Well I would say never say never as nothing is impossible to achieve only if the mindset of doing it is there. Well for the case of turning the SPL to one of the top leagues is something that is quite possible I believed, first the attraction of major players like the likes of Ronaldo need to be always there and paying them handsomely is another factor but like you said its all depends on the owners and management of the league for this dream to be a reality and one thing I know and beleive the Arab men for is the actual will power that pushes them to achieve all their goals.

if Messi joins SPL then it will surly be force and that help earn so much.
The rumours of Messi joining the Saudi premium league. Both  the players will make good force.

[SamReomo]

Ronaldo recently said that the Saudi Professional League could become a force and will be among the top five leagues in the world. But he also said that they are literally lacking players and infrastructure. Now how will that ever be sustainable when they need to pay a few hundred million in salaries per year in order to convince the stars to go there? The sheikhs would be better off buying their clubs in the European leagues and go from there. Establishing the SPL as one of the top five leagues is a bottomless pit.

Well I would say never say never as nothing is impossible to achieve only if the mindset of doing it is there. Well for the case of turning the SPL to one of the top leagues is something that is quite possible I believed, first the attraction of major players like the likes of Ronaldo need to be always there and paying them handsomely is another factor but like you said its all depends on the owners and management of the league for this dream to be a reality and one thing I know and beleive the Arab men for is the actual will power that pushes them to achieve all their goals.

The words of Ronaldo are very true because Saudi Professional League can become a force and will definitely be among the top five leagues in the world without any doubt. Even though the Saudi is unable to attract many good players because of the difference in cultures and the rules and regulations of the country, but the sheikhs are willing to spend billions to attract those players in their country.

The sheiks won't move to Europe because they're spending that amount of money to attract top stars in their own motherland, and their main intention is to get fame in their own country rather than spending their money of purchasing their clubs in other countries. They're really sure about the things they're doing, and I think in future they might reduce the rules and regulations for the stars only to make them stay in their country.

[shogun47]

Well I would say never say never as nothing is impossible to achieve only if the mindset of doing it is there. Well for the case of turning the SPL to one of the top leagues is something that is quite possible I believed, first the attraction of major players like the likes of Ronaldo need to be always there and paying them handsomely is another factor but like you said its all depends on the owners and management of the league for this dream to be a reality and one thing I know and beleive the Arab men for is the actual will power that pushes them to achieve all their goals.

I disagree when you say that signing players like Ronaldo is a big step forward, or as you precisely said it is the first step or something like that. This is not enough as the global audience wants real competition between many of the best players of the world. If there is only Ronaldo and a few others, then this helps drawing attention to the league, but it is far away from any of the European top leagues. You need an army of the best players in the world to make the SPL an authentic top league.

When you have one time events like the Grand Prix in formula 1 in Saudi Arabia, that is different. Or when you host a World Cup like Qatar, that is also different because people will still watch it as it is part of a global league or global event. But turning the SPL into a top league requires so much more than just a few stadiums and two stars like Messi and Ronaldo. The problem is that people might watch when the two play against each other, but what happens the other 28 games? You can't copy an ecosystem easily. The Premier League is a global product because the best of the best play there in the best phases of their career.