Ronaldo on his 'last legs' claims Man Utd legend

Jacque Talbot

• Updated: 7 Aug 2023 10:26 BST
• 3 min read

Former Manchester United attacker Cristiano Ronaldo is on his ‘last legs’, according to Dwight Yorke.

Ronaldo had two spells with the Premier League outfit, one a successful stint that earned him a move to Real Madrid, where he went on to be one of the best to ever play. But his second term was less successful, and he left via contract termination last year. Ronaldo then moved to Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, setting up something of a trend, with a cluster of other big names now joining Ronaldo in the Middle East.

Some have argued that the Pro League is nothing more than a retirement league and that it would be unable to challenge the top five. Others have said it could be one of the biggest years in years to come. Yorke believes that it is the former, and that players who join there are all past their best.

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Speaking to OLBG, Yorke said: "The age of the Saudi Pro League is not good enough to be in the Champions League.

The players who have joined that league, such as Cristiano Ronaldo, N'Golo Kante, and Karim Benzema, were all in Europe when they were in their prime. They've gone to the Saudi Arabian league now; they're in their mid-thirties."

He continued: "Everyone knows when you reach that age, you're on the last legs of your footballing career. Those big names resonate well with European football, but that's only because they were in their prime in Europe. They've gone to the Saudi league because they're older now, so I don't think they have the right to play in the Champions League yet."

READ MORE: Saudi Pro League summer transfers 2023: All the Done Deals

Saudi Pro League dominates transfers

Indeed, names such as Allan Saint-Maximin, Sadio Mane, Riyad Mahrez, Jordan Henderson, and Karim Benzema have moved to play in the Pro League this summer.

Ronaldo said of the competition via ESPN: "The Saudi league is better than MLS. I opened the way to the Saudi league, and now all the players are coming here. “In one year, more and more top players will come to Saudi. In a year, the Saudi league will overtake the Turkish league and Dutch league."