‘Everyone Except Ronaldo Are Overpaid Extras’: Ex-Saudi Sports Minister Lambasts Saudi Pro League Players

Cristiano Ronaldo for Al-Nassr (X)

Former Saudi sports minister Prince Abdullah bin Mosaad has delivered a blunt verdict on the Saudi Pro League’s expensive foreign influx: Cristiano Ronaldo is the only one actually worth the eye-watering paychecks.

Speaking on Al-Arabiya’s Fi Al-Maramathe ex-minister didn’t bother sugar-coating his concerns. Ronaldo, earning a casual $211 million a year, is “the only foreign player worth what he earns,” he said.

And it’s largely because the Portuguese superstar single-handedly boosts the league’s global visibility every time he breathes near a football.

“Ronaldo is the only foreign player worth what he earns because of the global exposure he brings to the league and the country,” he said of the Portuguese forward whose annual salary has been estimated at $211 million – $4 million a week.

“Many others are paid far more than they deserve.”

Everyone else? Overpaid, under-delivering, and clogging up the system.

Prince Abdullah warned that allowing eight foreign players per matchday has effectively relegated Saudi talent to background roles in their own league — “extras,” as he put it.

And with Saudi Arabia hosting the 2034 World Cup, he’s not thrilled about the timing.

“Building a strong league shouldn’t come at the expense of the national team,” he said, calling for a reduced foreign-player quota, more youth development, and top-tier coaches to rebuild the talent pipeline.

He even floated an idea for fixing refereeing quality: schedule the biggest fixtures on Thursdays so elite European referees can actually make it.

In short, his message was clear: Ronaldo is doing his job. Everyone else, including the system, needs to step it up.