The AC Milan forward opened up on a chat he had with Cristiano Ronaldo during a recent visit to Saudi Arabia.
The ever-growing list of world-renowned talents joining Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia this summer hasn’t surprised Rafael Leao one bit.
As Ronaldo said in Madrid last month, his January move to Al Nassr “opened the box”. The forward’s arrival marked the start of a new era in Saudi Arabian football. It has seen some of the world’s biggest players follow in his wake. These include Ballon d’Or holder Karim Benzema, World Cup winner N’Golo Kante, and most recently Marcelo Brozovic.
Now Leao has revealed Ronaldo always believed this would happen. The pair spoke about the Saudi Pro League’s future during Leao’s visit to Saudi Arabia in January. The Portuguese forward was in the country for AC Milan’s Supercoppa Italiana game against Inter Milan, which the Red and Blacks lost 3-0.
“Cristiano said to me ‘great players will come soon here’,” Leao said during a fan Q&A session on YouTube.
“He heard some news. So I was more or less aware that the Arab market would revolutionize because they have very great financial power. Cristiano also told me that the league will become very strong. With the signings that are being seen, I think it will become a very interesting league.”
This summer, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia took over four of the country’s leading football clubs. These teams are Al-Ittihad, Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal, and Al-Ahli. Al-Ittihad, Al-Nassr, and Al-Hilal were the top three clubs in the top-flight league last season. Al-Ahli was the champion of the second-tier league.
The PIF’s takeover has increased the transfer funds available to these clubs. The Saudi Pro League doesn’t have Europe’s financial fair play rules either, so the teams can offer players huge salaries without consequences.
According to Transfermarkt, Saudi Pro League clubs have completed 81 signings so far this summer. They’ve spent a total of €143.6 million on transfer fees. The most expensive signing is Ruben Neves. The Portuguese midfielder joined Al-Hilal from the English team Wolves this month for a €55 million fee.
AmoGmanchester
528
CR7 EFFECT 🆒💰😇
Holyiphe4336
481
Goat 🐐 effect
ceaaclmsty
239
that's why he's the greatest of all time ☮️🐐💰
fetbknosz
156
No player is bigger than a club, except that player is Ororo aka the GOAT
MadridSport
133
The only player greater than Ronaldo is Ronaldo himself. Bro is GOATED 🐐
Davichi
22
Of course Ronaldo understood this would happen because of the kind of money the Arabian government has injected into the league. A lot of Ronaldo fantastics are trying to make it look like players now go there because Ronaldo went there, which is a big lie. Before Ronaldo went there, some players from European clubs have gone there but it is more rampant now since the influx of money. To those fanatics who would want to argue blindly, ask yourself how many players have gone to the club Ronaldo plays for... if it was because of him then they would have been more inclined to be in the same club. The fact is that they go there to make money for themselves and their families before they would have to retire that's why most of them who have gone are in their 30s. The bottom line; it's "Money Effect"👌