Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has been ruling the roost in Saudi Arabia, where he is part of Al Nassr. In the ongoing Arabian Club Champions Cup, Ronaldo is currently the highest goal-scorer, as his Al Nassr side will take on fellow Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal in the final later on Saturday. A global football icon, Ronaldo’s arrival at Saudi Arabia proved influential as many leadng names in footballing world including current Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema and Sadio Mane followed the Portuguese forward.
Just like everywhere else around the world, Ronaldo enjoys a massive fan-base in Saudi Arabia too; and in the ongoing Champions Cup, the Al Nassr forward is popular among players from rival clubs as well. During the side’s semi-final against Iraq-based club Al Shorta, a player from the side тАУ Ahmed Zero тАУ approached Ronaldo for a picture. While the Portgual star obliged, Ahmed’s caption for the photo didn’t sit well with many Ronaldo fans on social media.
The Iraq player, taking to his official Instagram account, wrote, тАЬWith the second best player in history.тАЭ
Interestingly, the post was filled with comments glorifying Lionel Messi тАУ Ronaldo’s long-time rival тАУ even as Ahmed didn’t clarify who he believes is the best in the world. Months after Ronaldo’s switch to Saudi Pro League, Messi also left Europe to join Inter Miami in Major League Soccer in the United States. The Argentinian World Cup-winner made a prolific start to his US stint, scoring 8 goals in his first five appearances for the side.
Here’s how fans reacted to the caption from Ahmed Zero:
Last month, Ronaldo made a noteworthy public statement asserting that the Saudi Pro League holds a superior standing when compared to Major League Soccer (MLS). He went on to predict that the Saudi league is on trajectory to outshine even the Turkish and Dutch leagues in the near future.
“The Saudi league is better than the MLS,” Ronaldo told reports after Al Nassr’s 5-0 defeat against Celta Vigo.
“I’m 100 per cent sure I won’t return to any European club. They criticised me for coming to Saudi league, but what happened now? I opened the way to the Saudi league and now all the players are coming here.
“I won’t return to European football, the door is completely closed.”