Was Cristiano Ronaldo RIGHT? Addressing the Saudi Pro League top five league claim

Al-Hilal were a surprise feature of the Club World Cup semi-finals as they narrowly lost to Fluminese last night, which may suggest that the Saudi Pro League has actually improved quicker than many would think. Speaking on Al-Nassr's X account, after signing a contract extension at Al-Awwal Park, Cristiano Ronaldo said that the Saudi Arabian domestic league is already one of the top five leagues in the world, and this article will put that to the test.

The first criterion being assessed is essentially the only reason that this is even a talking point - the new influx of star players to Saudi Arabia. In the last few years alone, we've seen former Ballon D'Or winners Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, as well as many huge names like Neymar Jr seek a fresh start in the Middle East.

But is that enough?

Source: Transfermarkt

While the SPL boasts superstar names, the average player's market value is still significantly lower than Europe's elite: €1.68m compared to the Premier League's €19.53m. Even Ligue 1, a league in which the value is so heavily influenced by just one team, stands comfortably higher than the Saudi competition. This goes to show that, despite the high-profile nature of the signings going to Saudi Arabia, the overwhelming majority of them are past their peak, which tanks their value.

Source: The Guardian

On top of that, the current global perception of the league's players, despite their reputation, is desperately low. At the end of each calendar year, The Guardian posts their 'The 100 best footballers in the world' list, a summary of the finest talent that the sport has to offer globally. How many Saudi Pro League players featured on this list? Two. These are numbers that struggle to compete with the Turkish and American leagues, let alone the top competitions in Europe.

Next to discuss is the quality of the teams in the Saudi Pro League, and that can be looked at in terms of the squads' monetary value compared to those of Europe's top five league, as well as the number of players who represent their countries .

Source: Transfermarkt

Beyond the stars, the depth of quality in the league is not there yet. The average squad value in the SPL stands at €47.7 million, far below even Ligue 1 (€178.5 million). But the league is quickly becoming more international - 60 SPL players are current internationals, which is respectable against leagues like La Liga (86). Overall, though, it's clear from the two metrics presented above that the level of teams in the Saudi Pro League is nowhere near good enough to compete with Europe's top five, for now.

Interestingly, Al-Ittihad, the SPL’s champion club averaged 2.44 points per game in the 2024/25 season, a figure competitive with top leagues - suggesting dominant performance, even if overall parity is weaker. Does this indicate that the best teams in Saudi Arabia, with heavy financial backing, are beginning to close the gap on some of the teams in the elite European leagues? That remains to be seen, but based on the market value analysis carried out earlier, it may be wise to incorporate younger signings like Jhon Durán into their transfer portfolio if they want to really develop further.

Amongst the strongest leagues in Europe, the thing that separates the best of the best is the level of internal competition. Bundesliga and Ligue 1 are, as it stands, a way off being regarded as big as the Premier League, La Liga, and Serie A for that exact reason. With the exception of a recent underdog story in Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich's dominance in Germany really continues to undermine the quality of their first tier division. The same is the case in France, to an even greater extent, with the 2024/25 season marking Paris Saint-Germain's fourth league title in a row. So, on these grounds, there is scope for the Saudi Pro League to cement itself as a real threat to at least the Bundesliga and Ligue 1 in terms of domestic competitiveness.

However, as can be seen from the graphic above, the SPL also lags in terms of competitiveness. A 44-point gap between 1st and 10th shows how top-heavy the league is compared to the Premier League’s 28-point gap. Parity and unpredictability are lower, though this may change as smaller clubs benefit from the investment that the top Saudi Arabian clubs have had in recent years.

The ultimate factor for how 'big' a league is, though, is its engagement. How many fans (and non-fans) are paying money every week to go and watch the games live, and how many people are tuning in from around the world?

Source: Transfermarkt

The average attendance in the Saudi Pro League last season was worryingly low. There is a fairly sizeable gap between the attendance figures of Premier League and Bundesliga games when compared to the rest of the elite European leagues, and yet the Saudi Pro League can't even compete with the likes of Ligue 1 in this instance. In fact, the Saudi Pro League's average attendance last season was less than a third than that of Ligue 1. However, this is somewhat understandable considering the perception of football within these countries. All of England, Germany, Italy, Spain, and France have rich footballing cultures that date back to the 19th century in some cases. Saudi Arabia, by comparison, have only ever qualified for six World Cups, showing at the very least an issue with the football infrastructure in the kingdom. Consequently, it's important to look at the bigger picture when considering engagement for Saudi Arabian football, and so overall spectatorship numbers are just as significant.

Source: Transfermarkt

Unfortunately for the Saudi Pro League, its spectator figures are even more alarming. This is where the gap between European footballing elites and the SPL is really highlighted, especially when compared with the Premier League. The top leagues have been built from decades of attracting the greatest footballers in the sport at the present moment. They create talent as well as showcasing other world-class players in their prime, simultaneously - and that's exciting for football fans. As mentioned earlier on, the players are better, the squads are much higher in quality, and the competition is more fierce, which is what people love watching.

Is it just a case of all Saudi Arabian teams being substandard and boring? Absolutely not, and this was emphasised by Al-Hilal's 7-goal thriller against Manchester City in the Club World Cup, which saw Simone Inzaghi's side progress to the semi-final. What is apparent though, is that the more high-profile sides with heavy financial backing are far superior from the rest of the league, where the standard has remained the same as it was half a decade ago. With investment across the entire division, as well as a supportive academy football system, the Saudi Pro League can get to a point where it competes with the likes of Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga. For now, though, it is a way off, and with the exception of a few individual teams, it's unlikely to win over the European fans who are accustomed to watching high quality football in their home leagues.