Cristiano Ronaldo recently shared his thoughts on Saudi Arabian football. He believes that having too many foreign players in the Saudi Pro League could be harmful. According to him, this would reduce the playing time for local Saudi players. Ronaldo was one of the first big international stars to join the league, signing with Al-Nassr in December 2022.
Since Ronaldo’s move, many other famous players have also joined the Saudi Pro League. Stars like Karim Benzema, Sadio Mane, and N’Golo Kante are now playing in Saudi Arabia. There are even rumors that Vinicius Junior, a top player, is being targeted by Saudi clubs.
However, Ronaldo thinks that bringing in too many foreign players could hurt the development of local talent. To address this, Saudi Arabia changed its rules last year. Previously, clubs could sign up to eight foreign players. But starting in January 2024, this number was increased to ten. However, eight of these players must be born after 2003. This rule aims to attract younger talents rather than older, well-known stars.
This strategy seems to be working. For example, Jhon Duran, a young player from Aston Villa, recently joined Al-Nassr to play alongside Ronaldo. The league hopes this approach will help balance the growth of local players while still attracting international talent.
Cristiano Ronaldo Warns: Too Many Foreign Players Could Harm Saudi Pro League and Local Talent
