Saudi Arabia is better than France, watch out for absurd Ronaldo, and play at a lower level than Son Heung-min. 10th in MLS → 30th in Saudi Arabia

Nov 18, 2025

Saudi Arabia is better than France, watch out for absurd Ronaldo, and play at a lower level than Son Heung-min. 10th in MLS → 30th in Saudi Arabia



Cristiano Ronaldo's remarks proved wrong again.

Based on the power ranking released by the soccer statistics media OPTA on the 17th (Korea time), Give Me Sports in the UK revealed the world's best league from 1st to 30th.

Give Me Sports released the rankings up to 30th place, but the evaluation of each league was conducted only from 1st to 20th place. Prior to the announcement of the rankings, several leagues were pushed out of the top 20 because the OPTA's power ranking was based on average values. The most shocking case is the Saudi Arabian professional league, where huge amounts of money have been introduced. The Saudi league was rated lower than some of Europe's second-tier leagues,' he said, directly shooting Ronaldo's remarks that `Saudi League is better than French Ligue 1.' The Saudi league where Ronaldo plays is 30th, at the end of the ranking.
Saudi Arabia is better than France, watch out for absurd Ronaldo, and play at a lower level than Son Heung-min. 10th in MLS → 30th in Saudi Arabia
The U.S. Major League Soccer (MLS), where Son Heung-min and Lionel Messi play, is considered a much higher-quality league than the Saudi league where Ronaldo plays. MLS was evaluated as a very high-quality league with a whopping 10th place in the world.




Give Me Sport 'Messi effect is undeniably established in the United States. As the league's highest-paid player, he elevated MLS' reputation to the top of the soccer league. Since arriving in the U.S., many eyes have been on Messi, and he is playing in the top league in the U.S. with Luis Suarez, his teammate during his time in Barcelona, saying that Messi has changed the world's view of MLS.
Saudi Arabia is better than France, watch out for absurd Ronaldo, and play at a lower level than Son Heung-min. 10th in MLS → 30th in Saudi Arabia
The teams will then be divided into the Western Conference and the Eastern Conference, where they will compete in a tournament at the end of the season to determine the final winners. This is a similar structure to many football leagues in the Americas. The LA Galaxy briefly introduced the league, saying, 'The most successful team in MLS history to date with six MLS Cup wins.'

In terms of MLS' ranking, it was ranked higher than Argentina, Denmark, Poland, Turkiye, and the Dutch league. The top teams in the Turkiye and Dutch leagues are the teams that advance to the European tournament every year. It's a simple comparison, but it's not strange to say that MLS's big clubs can be competitive enough in the European competition.
Saudi Arabia is better than France, watch out for absurd Ronaldo, and play at a lower level than Son Heung-min. 10th in MLS → 30th in Saudi Arabia
Some said that it was because the league level fell significantly after Son Heung-min advanced to MLS with 10 goals and 3 assists in 12 games, but MLS is not a league to be ignored. Of course, Ronaldo would never admit it.

The best leagues in the world were the English Premier League, La Liga in Spain, and Bundesliga in Germany. Italian Serie A and French leagues followed in order. Surprisingly, the English Championship (minor league) ranks sixth in the world. This is an example of how scary English football clubs are.




In Asia, the Japanese J-League was the highest at 18th, and the K-League was not included in the top 30.



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.