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Ahmad Salah
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Video: Outside the top 30! A major shock in the global ranking of the Saudi league

Saudi Pro League
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Premier League
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"Ronaldo and a revolution of stars alone are not enough"!

The latest ranking by the Opta network of the world's strongest football leagues has sparked a wide wave of controversy across the sporting community and the Saudi media. The Roshn League landed in a surprisingly low position despite the major boom the competition has witnessed in recent years and its signing of some of the game's most prominent stars and coaches. Questions are now being renewed over the criteria that give some leagues an advantage over others.

The 6 November 2026 update placed the Saudi league 38th in the world, with an average rating of 74.7 points. That left it trailing the Polish and Peruvian leagues. England topped the list, followed by Spain, Germany, Italy and France.

Read also: Video: a decisive statement: did Salah cause the sacking of Hossam Hassan?

  • Opta's explanation: why has the Saudi league been ranked 38th in the world?

    Saudi broadcaster Battal Al-Qaws invited Enrico Turcato, Opta's official in Italy, onto his Al-Arabiya programme "In the Goal" to unpack the reasons behind this shocking ranking and set out the criteria the network used to assess the Roshn League.

    Read also: A new threat looms over Al-Ahly: a European giant chases Toney

    According to Turcato, the ranking has nothing to do with a cluster of global stars at certain clubs. It hinges on how competitive the entire league is. A handful of sides stacked with first-rate players simply isn't enough to push the division up the rankings.

    The Opta official insisted the key measure is the number of teams operating at an elite level, and how far they can crank up the intensity of the contest. That competitive depth, he explained, doesn't run evenly through every club in the Saudi league.

    Put simply, the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Riyad Mahrez and those who followed them don't on their own prove the strength of the Roshn League. On Turcato's reading, the rating comes down to the average standard across its teams, not just the technical and marketing pull of its biggest names.

    Read also: A surprise behind the scenes of being informed of the decision: Hossam Hassan's first response after his dismissal

  • An awkward question! A striking Saudi testimony

    The televised encounter threw up a striking moment. Battal Al-Qous asked his guest to name five clubs from the Peruvian league, a division ranked above the Saudi competition, and Torcato couldn't come up with the names.

    Hours earlier, Saudi media figure Waleed Al-Faraj had floated a controversial take on just how competitive the Saudi league really is, and he set an unusual yardstick for it: crowd attendance. He was answering a viewer's question about why the focus always lands on the Kingdom's big four.

    "The stands are empty," Al-Faraj said on his programme Rotana Sport with Waleed on the Rotana Khalijia channel on Saturday evening. "I respect and appreciate all the clubs, but do you think the 18 clubs of the league have the same impact?"

    Only four clubs in Saudi Arabia represent the pillar of "following, attendance, marketing and money, and the rest complete the league," he added. "Proving one's presence is not by raising one's voice, but by attendance inside the stadium."

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