Saudi Pro League has been ranked 38th in Opta’s latest list of the world’s strongest football leagues, despite attracting global stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema. The league has an average rating of 74.7 points, placing it behind competitions in Poland and Peru. The ranking has sparked debate in Saudi football, particularly over whether the country’s major investment in high-profile players has translated into stronger competition across the league.

Opta’s latest ranking places the English Premier League at the top, followed by Spain’s La Liga, Germany’s Bundesliga, Italy’s Serie A and France’s Ligue 1. The Saudi Pro League sits much further down the table in 38th position. Meanwhile, Major League Soccer (MLS), home to Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez, is ranked 17th, 21 places ahead of the Saudi competition.

The position has raised questions because Saudi clubs have spent heavily in recent years to recruit internationally recognised players and coaches. Ronaldo, Benzema and Riyad Mahrez are among the prominent names who have moved to the country. However, Opta’s assessment suggests that the presence of several elite players alone is not enough to make an entire league one of the world’s strongest.

The issue was discussed on the Saudi television programme ‘In the Goal’, hosted by Battal Al-Qaws. The presenter invited Enrico Turcatto, Opta’s representative in Italy, to explain how the rankings are determined. Turcatto said the strength of a league cannot be judged simply by the number of world-class players featuring for a handful of clubs.

According to Turcatto, the overall level of competition is a key factor. The assessment considers how many teams consistently play high-level football and how closely matched the clubs are. In his view, competition in the Saudi Pro League is not spread evenly across all participating teams. As a result, the presence of stars such as Ronaldo, Benzema and Mahrez cannot, by itself, lift the league’s overall standing. The average quality of teams across the competition also matters.

The discussion took an awkward turn when Al-Qaws asked Turcatto to name five clubs from Peru’s league, which is ranked above Saudi Arabia’s. Turcatto was unable to name them.

Saudi sports personality Walid Al-Faraj has also questioned the competitiveness of the domestic league. Speaking on his programme ‘Rotana Sport with Walid’ on Rotana Khalijia, he pointed to low attendance as another concern. “The stands are empty,” he said on Saturday night.

Al-Faraj stressed that every club deserved respect, but questioned whether all 18 teams had the same influence. He argued that only four clubs formed the league’s main foundation in terms of fan interest, stadium attendance, marketing and financial strength, while the remaining clubs mainly completed the competition’s numbers. He added that a club must demonstrate its presence not only through words but also through supporters in the stadium.