Play store
The long-running debate surrounding football icons Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi has taken a new turn, shifting focus from their individual achievements to the quality of the leagues they now play in.
The discussion intensified after the latest post-2026 FIFA World Cup global league rankings placed Major League Soccer (MLS), where Messi plays, well ahead of Ronaldo’s Saudi Pro League.
According to the latest rankings by Global Football Rankings, MLS has entered the world’s top 10 leagues for the first time, securing 10th place with an average rating of 79.3. In contrast, the Saudi Pro League has dropped to 36th place with a rating of 75.1.
The rankings have sparked widespread debate on social media, with fans comparing the competitiveness and overall standard of the two leagues.
Ronaldo has consistently praised the quality of the Saudi Pro League since joining the competition, while Messi’s arrival has helped boost the popularity and profile of MLS. The latest rankings have added fresh fuel to discussions over which league offers a higher level of competition.
Global Football Rankings evaluates leagues based on more than star players or transfer spending. Its methodology considers the average quality of all clubs, competitive balance, match results and the consistency of competition throughout the season.
As a result, leagues with a few elite clubs but a large gap between strong and weak teams may rank lower than competitions where most clubs are evenly matched.
However, experts note that league rankings vary significantly depending on the methodology used.
While Global Football Rankings places MLS 10th and the Saudi Pro League 36th, Opta’s Power Rankings—which emphasize club strength—rank MLS around 19th and the Saudi Pro League around 42nd.
Meanwhile, the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) ranked the Saudi Pro League 13th and MLS 40th in its list published earlier in 2026.
The differing assessments highlight that there is still no universally accepted system for measuring the strength of football leagues, with different organizations using different criteria to evaluate competitions worldwide.
