Cristiano Ronaldo stated that the ‘Saudi Pro League is better than the MLS’ just one day after Lionel Messi was revealed by US club Inter Miami.

The Argentine was given his new club shirt during the unveiling event on Sunday, after it was reported earlier this summer that he would be joining the Florida-based squad on a £45 million-per-year deal.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo was one of the first big stars to come to Saudi Arabia, joining Al-Nassr after leaving Manchester United last season in a £175 million-per-year deal.

Many more players, including Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, and even Steven Gerrard, have now followed him to the Middle Eastern country.

While Ronaldo just stated that he will remain in Saudi Arabia for the upcoming season, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner has been linked with a return to Europe and his former club Real Madrid.

Cristiano Ronaldo has claimed the ‘Saudi Pro League is better than the MLS’ just a day after Lionel Messi was unveiled by Inter Miami

The former Manchester Untied forward also claimed that ‘European football had lost a lot of quality’

Inter Miami unveiled Lionel Messi (front-left) in a ceremony in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Sunday night, with co-owner David Beckham (right) on stage with him.

However, following a 5-0 pre-season friendly thrashing by Celta Vigo on Monday, Ronaldo has provided a candid assessment of his future, declaring that he would not be transferring to the United States or back to Europe, while also taking credit for the wave of players headed to the Middle East.

‘The Saudi league is better than the MLS,’ he said, according to Fabrizio Romano.

‘I’m 100 per cent sure I won’t return to any European club. I opened the way to the Saudi league and now all the players are coming here.

‘I won’t return to European football, the door is completely closed,’ he added.

‘I’m 38-years-old, also European football has lost lot of quality. The only league that for me has a lot of quality and is at a higher level than all the others is the Premier League.

‘The Spanish league does not have that great quality. The Portuguese league is a good league, but it is not a top, top league. The German league I think has also lost a lot. I’m sure I won’t play in Europe again. I want to play in Saudi Arabia.’

His squad, Al-Nassr, were narrowly defeated by league rivals Al-Ittihad for the Saudi Pro League title last season, but were barred from acquiring new players by FIFA last week after failing to pay £390,000 in add-ons for former Leicester star Ahmed Musa.

Despite this, the club signed Marcelo Brozovic before the suspension was imposed in early July, and they have also been widely connected with a deal for Hakim Ziyech.

‘In one year, more and more top players will come to Saudi,’ the Portuguese superstar continued. ‘In a year the Saudi league will overtake the Turkish league and Dutch league.

‘Players who arrived aren’t like what the president of the European Union said. Jota and Neves are young players.’

Messi (middle) left Paris Saint-Germain earlier this summer and will now join up with the MLS on a deal that will keep him at the club until 2025

Karim Benzema (pictured) is one of several big names to follow Ronaldo to the Saudi Pro League this

And, despite much conjecture about his future, Ronaldo appears to have reaffirmed that he will remain in Al-Nassr for the foreseeable future.

Son Heung-min stated last week that he had turned down an invitation to play for a Saudi Pro League team.

On Monday, Manchester City turned down a £18 million approach from Al-Ahli’s for Riyad Mahrez.

When asked whether he would move to the MLS, Ronaldo added: ‘I think the Saudi league is much better than the United States. My team is Al-Nassr.’

‘100 per cent. It’s a fact,’ Ronaldo said. ‘It was going to take a year, but it was six months. I was wrong for six months.

‘But I knew this was going to happen because in the Italian league, when I went there, it was also dead and then rejuvenated.

‘Where Cristiano goes, it generates greater interest and I knew it was going to be like that. I’m sure that next season more stars will go there [to Saudi Arabia].’