Cristiano Ronaldo has once again insisted that other high-profile players will follow his lead and move to Saudi Arabia in the coming years - just days after Lionel Messi snubbed a lucrative move to the Middle East.
Plenty of eyebrows were raised when Ronaldo, 38, decided to sign with Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Nassr back in December after leaving Manchester United, but the multi-time Ballon d'Or winner stressed he was eager for a new challenge after accomplishing everything he had set out to achieve in Europe.
The Portuguese superstar predicted not long after his switch that other top stars would join him in Saudi Arabia. And even though Messi has opted to spend the twilight years of his career elsewhere, Ronaldo has doubled down on his initial claim.
"I knew that me going to Saudi Arabia would open a box and I wasn’t wrong," he said at a brand event.
"I’m sure in a couple of years or three, this league is going to be one of the most important leagues in the world. Karim [Benzema] left already and I am 1000 percent sure that many more players will."
Although Messi has chosen to head to the MLS, Ronaldo's verdict already carries some weight: his former Real Madrid teammate, Karim Benzema, joined Saudi champions Al-Ittihad in a lucrative transfer earlier this week.
Elsewhere, Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante is also poised to complete a money-spinning switch to the Middle East after receiving a huge contract offer, while Manchester City winger Riyad Mahrez is the latest Premier League player to be linked with a move to Saudi Arabia.
It is believed that Messi was offered a record-breaking contract offer from Al-Hilal that would have made him the best-paid player in the world before he officially agreed terms with David Beckham's MLS franchise, Inter Miami, earlier this week.
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There was also interest from Messi's former club, Barcelona, too. However, the World Cup winner hinted that money was no object by claiming that, if he was out to make some quick money, he'd have simply accepted the invitation to go to Saudi Arabia.
Speaking earlier this week about interest from Barcelona amid their ongoing financial issues, he said: "The truth is that economics were never a problem for me or an obstacle at all. We never even got to talk about a contract [with Barcelona].
"A proposal was passed over, but never a formal, written, signed proposal, because there was still nothing and we did not know if it was going to be possible or not. There was the intention, but we couldn't advance anything, we didn't even talk about money formally.
"If it had been a matter of money I would have gone to [Saudi] Arabia or elsewhere. It seemed like a lot of money to me and the truth is that my decision went another way and not for money."
