Barcelona president Joan Laporta has lashed out at Cristiano Ronaldo and other big names for moving to Saudi Pro League. The Portuguese legend was the first big coup of Saudi Arabia as he signed for Al Nassr in January. 

Speaking to CNN, Laporta said: “When a player, and with all respect, prefers to go to Saudi Arabia, basically there are no sporting reasons. You know, there are other reasons that are the priority. And the football must be the priority – the sporting reasons must be the priority.”

After Ronaldo moved to Saudi Arabia, a compilation of top football talent went to the Middle East. The players joining the Saudi Pro League clubs include Karim Benzema, Marcelo Brozovic, N’Golo Kante, and Roberto Firmino. 

Former Manchester United striker Odion Ighalo also shared the opinion of Laporta. The Nigerian said Ronaldo moved to the Saudi Pro League only for money. After the names mentioned above, Riyad Mahrez, Fabinho, and Jordan Henderson have been the latest names to move to Saudi Arabia.

The same effort was made in the Chinese Super League when the Asians offered footballers mega contracts. However, not only didn’t anyone move to China, but the league never got any coverage. In this case, Saudi Pro League is a different cattle of fish. After signing Ronaldo, they wanted to bring former Barcelona man Lionel Messi to the Middle East. However, the World Cup winner refused the move and went to Inter Miami instead.

As many players are getting linked with a move to the Saudi Pro League, the following big players to move to the Middle East remains to be seen.