Cristiano Ronaldo has addressed the significant change he had to make after transferring to Saudi Arabia and joining Al Nassr.
Ronaldo completed a remarkable £175 million-per-year move to Al Nassr in December, when his agreement with Manchester United was mutually cancelled.
He enjoyed his whole career in Europe, playing for United, Real Madrid, Sporting, and Juventus, then moved to Saudi Arabia to encourage the next generation.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner had to adjust to a completely new society, along with his girl friend Georgina Rodriguez and the rest of his family.
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And one major distinction that Ronaldo had to adjust to was the change in training timing, with afternoon or evening workouts replacing morning grafts.
[For example, in Europe, we practice more often in the morning, whereas here, we workout in the afternoon or evening, and during Ramadan, we train at 10 p.m.,] he said to the Saudi Pro League's official YouTube account.
[For example, in Europe, we practice more often in the morning, whereas here, we workout in the afternoon or evening, and during Ramadan, we train at 10 p.m.,] he said to the Saudi Pro League's official YouTube account.
So, this seems odd, but as I've said before, such circumstances are part of an experience, memories. I enjoy living through these experiences because they teach me so much. It's challenging, but nothing I haven't seen before.
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So far, my experience has shown that Saudi supporters are passionate about football and live an active lifestyle, which is fantastic, and I am overjoyed."
Despite making headlines for his stoppages during and after games, Cristiano scored 14 goals in 16 matches for his squad, and they finished 2nd Nuno Espirito Santo's Al Ittihad.
There has been speculation regarding Ronaldo's future, but he has stated his intention to stay in the Saudi Pro League, which he believes that it possesses the capability to evolve into a world-class league in future.
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In the same interview, Cristiano discussed how the league may progress to become a top 5 league, mentioning the VAR system and infrastructure as two instances.
[The league is wonderful,] Ronaldo told.
However, I believe we still have a lot of room to grow. The league is incredibly competitive. We have very excellent teams and talented Arab players, but the infrastructure has to be improved a little more. Even the officials, as well as the VAR system, should be slightly faster.
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Nevertheless, I am happy here, and I'd like to continue here, and I will continue here," he added. And, in my view, if they continue to accomplish the job that they intend to do here for the next 5 years, the Saudi League has the potential to be one of the top 5 leagues in the world.
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