“You Can’t Go in a Lower Stage” – Zlatan Ibrahimovic Rips Into Cristiano Ronaldo’s $500M Al Nassr Path With a Brutal Take

Cristiano Ronaldo penned a $500 million deal with Al Nassr last season. Former Manchester United star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, however, has slammed the Portuguese, among many, for initiating the exodus from Europe to the Gulf, claiming you cannot go to a lower stage to end your career.

Ibrahimovic, as we have come to expect of him, did not hold back when talking about the players who moved to Saudi Arabia this season.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic slams players for joining Saudi sides for big money deals

In his recent appearance on Piers Morgan’s Uncensored, the Swedish striker touched down on the wave of players who have decided to leave European soccer for big-money deals from Saudi Arabia. Ibrahimovic added that while he had offers from China and Saudi, he wanted to end his career on the big stage.

“I had an offer also from China. I had an offer also from Saudi. But the situation is what do you want? What is your? What objectives do you have? I said before we started like, certain players need to finish his careers on a big stage. Because that is like the high end of your career. Because you have to be remembered for your talent, not for what you earned,” he said.

The former AC Milan striker added that players of a certain caliber need to finish their career at the top. However, Ibrahimovic did add that there were a few players who went to Saudi because they did not make enough money at their previous clubs.

“Because if you’ll be remembered in the opposite way. What we are training every day for what we’re being recognized for is our talent. And that’s what you want to be remembered for. So I think certain players that reach a certain level, they have to stop at a certain stage. And that’s the big stage. You cannot go in a lower stage and finish your career in a different way. But some players needed the situations where they can earn a lot of money because they didn’t earn enough.”

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Cristiano Ronaldo was the first European star who marked the beginning of the exodus to Saudi Arabia. Ronaldo signed a massive $500 million deal with Saudi side Al Nassr that opened the door for players to move to the Middle Eastern country.

Stars across Europe follow Cristiano Ronaldo to Saudi Arabia

Portuguese talisman Cristiano Ronaldo opened the floodgates to the Saudi Pro League following his move to Al Nassr. The recent transfer window saw teams such as Al Hilal, Al Nassr, and Al Ittihad splurge on some of the biggest names across Europe. Superstars such as Neymar Jr, Karim Benzema, and N’Golo Kante, Kalidou Koulibaly, among others, joined different Saudi outfits for massive paychecks this summer.

With clubs from the Middle East luring players with big contracts, the Saudi Pro League has time and again reiterated their project of the future. With the league now bigger than ever, players around the world have expressed their desire to play in the Gulf.

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What do you think of Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s statement? Do you think Cristiano Ronaldo should have ended his career in Europe? Let us know in the comments below.