Just recently, Portuguese football icon Cristiano Ronaldo claimed that the Saudi Pro League is “much better” vs the MLS, even with Lionel Messi check out their market value comparison and world ranking
To prove his point, the former Real Madrid forward pointed out how more world-renowned stars are joining him in the league this season.
Saudi Pro League vs MLS which is better, world ranking in 2023, market value and net worth compared
The average MLS salary is just shy of £300,000 per year – or around £6,000 per week while meanwhile, in the Saudi Pro League the mean salary – prior to the influx of superstars – was around £20,000 per year, just £375 per week.
According to a January study by sports intelligence agency Twenty First Group, the MLS is ranked as the 29th best division in the world.
The SPL holds the top position among the best-ranked leagues in Asia.
Ronaldo on MLS vs. the Saudi Pro League 👀 pic.twitter.com/DSQBNoubCT
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) July 18, 2023
🚨: Al Nassr striker Cristiano Ronaldo said the Saudi Pro League "is better" than MLS and that he has no plans to play in the United States or return to a team in Europe.
Ronaldo was speaking to the media after playing the first half of Al Nassr's 5-0 preseason loss to La Liga… pic.twitter.com/zSqVB1q8aD
— truth. (@thetruthin) July 18, 2023
Aside from making the wild claims, Ronaldo even suggested that the Saudi Pro League has even surpassed other European leagues. He believes that all other European leagues have lost their quality, except for the Premier League.
MLS vs Saudi Pro League market value comparison
In order to evaluate if Cristiano Ronaldo’s wild claims are really true, we have to come down to the facts. In this regard, comparing their respective market value stands as the best way to compare the two leagues. Firstly, the MLS has a total market value of $1,391,013,400 when combining all the 29 teams. Meanwhile, all of the Saudi Pro League clubs make up only a total of $611,316,735. However, fans should note that the US-based league has much more teams than its Saudi counterpart.
In order to see things from a different perspective, we can compare the three most valuable teams in Saudi Arabia with their US counterparts. This brings another totally different result as the top three Saudi Pro League clubs are way more expensive. Al-Hilal are currently worth at $157,779,060, while Al-Nassr have a market value of $135,825,727 and Al-Ittihad have a total market value of $86,411,098. Meanwhile, in comparison, Inter Miami at $79,198,021, New York City at $74,879,148 and LAFC at 62,146,889 are much lower.
But then again, comparing the three cheapest teams in both leagues brings another interesting result. Combining the market value of the three cheapest teams in the MLS brings up a total of $101,745,898. Meanwhile, combining the three clubs with the lowest market value in the Saudi Pro League makes only $13,809,172. Moreover, judging by the fact that the Saudi Pro League became more renowned until just recently after Ronaldo joined further puts the MLS in the lead.