Cristiano Ronaldo’s hopes of the Saudi Pro League becoming one of the best in the world look no closer to being realised after another embarrassing low was recorded.
Al Wehda’s game against Al Okhdood saw just 575 people turn up to the 62,000-capacity King Abdulaziz Sports City Stadium – one of over 40 games to register numbers of less than 1,000 people.
To put that into perspective, 1,842 fans attended an eighth tier English game between Chasetown and Witton Albion on Saturday. Some games in the Saudi Pro League have even had figures as low as 200.
This is in spite of the league bringing some of the biggest names in world football to their clubs.
Karim Benzema, Neymar, N’Golo Kante, Ruben Neves, Jordan Henderson and more all made the move in the summer but it appears to have failed to have captured the imagination of the locals.
Cristiano Ronaldo on Saudi Pro League
Despite the small number of fans attending, Cristiano Ronaldo still believes that the Saudi Pro League can establish itself as a dominant force in football.
He said: “We are much better and the Saudi league is getting better and the next year will be even better.
“Step-by-step I think this league will be among the top five leagues in the world but they need time, players and infrastructure.
“But I believe that this country have amazing potential, they have amazing people and the league will be great in my opinion.”
