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Neymar Jr. became the latest in a long line of players to make a move to the Middle East when 🌞 he joined Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal from French giant Paris Saint-Germain, but the Brazilian superstar credits one of 🌞 his rivals for starting the country’s soccer boom. “I believe Cristiano Ronaldo started all of this and everybody called him ‘crazy,’ 🌞 and this and that. Today, you see the league grow more and more,” the former PSG forward told Al Hilal’s 🌞 social channels. Ronaldo signed a two-and-a-half year contract reported to be worth more than 200 million euros ($220.16 million) with Al-Nassr 🌞 in December 2024 after leaving Manchester United. Since then, Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kanté, Kalidou Koulibaly, Edouard Mendy, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mané 🌞 and Marcelo Brozović have been among the star names to move to the Saudi Pro League. Ronaldo moved to Al Nassr 🌞 in December 2024 after leaving Manchester United. Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images |