MLS vs. Saudi Pro League: Which is the better league based on stats?

Major League Soccer (MLS) and the Saudi Pro League are contesting for influence in loftily different ways on the globalised football scene. On one side is the West Asian behemoth fast developing through oil wealth, while on the other side is the North American upstart famed for its commercial inventiveness and multiculturalism.

But Portuguese icon Cristiano Ronaldo, who has seen and done it all, holds quite strong beliefs that the MLS is "an obviously worse league” than the, in his own words, 'disesteemed' Saudi Pro League.

What determines the strength of a league? Is it the profound vitality ingrained in regional culture, the sustainable output of the competitive system, or the total number of stars amassed through revenue?

The answer might not lie in a black-and-white decision but in this football experiment across the Eastern and Western hemispheres as Saudi Arabia and Major League Soccer are redefining the value coordinates of modern football through rather different routes.

Building on Cristiano Ronaldo's declaration, this article will investigate four main aspects to evaluate the strength and weaknesses of the MLS and Saudi Pro League. 

Intercontinental arena: The weight of glory

The most direct observation window for the supremacy battle between the MLS and Saudi Pro League comes from the intercontinental competitions in the 2023–2024 season.

The AFC Champions League and the CONCACAF Champions Cup offer the most naked competitive benchmarks for the Saudi League against Major League Soccer; the former carries the ambition of oil capital to reshapep Asian dominance, while the latter tries to prove that North American football's "slow growth philosophy" is not just an empty dream.

Saudi League: The "civil war curse" of the golden fleet

Out of four Saudi teams to advance to the round of 16 in the 2023/24 AFC Champions League, only Al Hilal made it to the semifinal. But behind this apparently hopeless path is a shockingly dramatic logic: half of the Saudi eliminations resulted from "friendly fire."

Al-Ittihad were eliminated by compatriots Al-Hilal in the quarter-finals by an embarrassing total score of 0-4, while earlier, in the round of 16, the "Saudi Derby" between Al-Nassr and Al-Fayha had already claimed another of the qualifying places.

Tragic grandeur was manifested the only time Saudi teams faced foreign Asian teams: UAE superpower Al Ain upset Ronaldo-led Al Nassr with an aggregate score of 5-4 over two legs and subsequently staged a breathtaking comeback against Al Hilal in the semifinal with a similar score (4-4).

This statistic thoroughly reveals the psychological resilience of the top teams and the defensive flaws of the Saudi team, which, built at a cost of hundreds of millions of euros, seemed as delicate as paper.

MLS: A "structural collapse" under numerical superiority

Major League Soccer (MLS) teams filled six berths in the round of 16 of the CONCACAF Champions Cup, posting a numerical advantage in the competition.

Although the MLS also lost two of its soldiers due to “infighting,” their pride fell apart in the knockout stage as Philadelphia Union were hammered 6-0 by Pachuca while New England fell 9-2 to another Mexican side, América. 

Only Columbus Crew, out of six participants, advanced to the semifinal and subsequently finals, where they lost 0-3 to Pachuca, producing one of the most lopsided AFC Champions League final score in almost ten years.

Saudi Pro League more dominant than MLS in international competitions

The Saudi killer Al Ain needed to score a total of nine goals to their opponents’ eight to eliminate Al Nassr and Al Hilal in the 23/24 AFC Champions League, which, although admirable, reflected a tactical legacy of giving offence first priority over defence. 

On the other side, with a goal differential of 32:10, MLS teams could only muster two wins (both by Columbus Crew against Monterrey) in fifteen games against Mexican teams in the 23/24 CONCACAF Champions Cup, with the Messi-led Inter Miami losing home and away. 

Even when slashing the yardstick and confining the metrics to individual brilliance, the MLS once again fails to impress with only one player (Julian Carranza) scoring at least 4 continental goals, unlike the Saudis, who exude distinction with six players to boast, four of whom tallied 6 goals or more. 

National team value: Superstar twilight vs. career grave

The national team experience of a player is the hard currency used to gauge a league's degree of competitiveness. Saudi Arabia's rivalry with Major League Soccer is really a fight between the "nurturing ground for local potential" and the "residual value of past-their-prime stars."

Saudi League: The "Game of Thrones" of veteran dynasties

The Saudi team's nucleus comprises players like Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), N'Golo Kanté (France), Aymeric Laporte (Spain), and Aleksandar Mitrovič (Serbia), who are all regulars for top European nations.

In 2024,

• Laporte started 13 matches for Spain, boasting a passing accuracy of 89.4% in 5 UEFA Nations League games; 
• Kanté averaged 4 tackles + interceptions per match in 3 Nations League starts for France (11 starts in all national competitions), thus highlighting his skill as the "world's best defensive midfielder." 
• Mane carried the Senegalese frontline with an amazing efficiency of 5 goals and an assist in 8 qualifiers. 

These three superstars, as well as Koulibaly, Neves, Mitrovic, Milinković-Savić, and Mendy, were included a total of 108 times in their respective national squads in 2024.

MLS: Star power black hole and identity anxiety

Messi's signing caused a corybantic frenzy in Major League Soccer, but the recent reality is shockingly stark: in 2024 Messi, despite muscle injuries, played 11 times for the Argentine national team, as many as every top player in the MLS combined. 

Mexican winger Lozano was called up only twice, while Swedish midfielder Forsberg has entirely vanished from the national team roster.

Ironically, among the biggest names in Major League Soccer, most players—including the Belgian passerby Kuipers, the Brazilian fringe player Evander, and the Spanish reject Riqui Puig—together form a 'Losers's Alliance and were not called up to their national teams throughout the year. 

Saudi Pro League superior roster compared to MLS

While the Major League Soccer's "retirement home" label is firmly ingrained, and it is practically impossible to change its ecological positioning as the "final destination of national team careers"—the Saudi League's effective star strategy is essentially a "reverse merger"—using washed-up European stars to maintain attention while attracting in-form national team players (like the 21-year-old Jhon Duran).

League appeal: Oil hegemony vs. middle-class utopia

Saudi Arabia: The "lightning revolution”

Signing Ronaldo to an annual salary of €230 million, bundling Benzema, Kanté, and Neves for wages exceeding €250 million, and garnering worldwide attention with burgeoning broadcasting contracts (averaging $100 million per season), the Saudi League is a precise manoeuvre by the sovereign wealth fund "Public Investment Fund."

European players in Saudi Arabia receive tax-free annual salaries, private jet travel, and 24-hour security teams—top-notch treatment that even Premier League giants find difficult to match in Riyadh's opulent villa area. 

But the centre of this revolution is full of paradoxes: the 50°C summer heat slows down the pace of the games, local fans have a weak sense of kinship with the "mercenaries," and the influx of international players is driving the youth training system almost to collapse. 

Although Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal's "national derby" can draw 80,000 live spectators, regular league match attendance usually lags far below 30%. Based on this, Saudi football's success is basically a "showcase" motivated by governmental machinery.

MLS: The gradual "system revolution"

Major League Soccer's "quality of life" is its secret ace: New York's multiculturalism, Los Angeles's entertainment scene, and Miami's Latin flair produce a sequence of "globalised middle-class paradises." 

Families of players can fit quite well in an English-speaking society; their children can attend international universities; and the influencer lifestyle on social media has evolved into an invisible advertisement. 

Apple TV's $2.5 billion broadcasting pact over 10 years ($250 million per season) lets every team boost their annual income by $20 million, and the league's "Single-Entity" structure guarantees financial stability. 

The penalty is, however, equally significant. The salary cap structure (with a maximum salary of only $743,750 for designated players in 2025) pushes teams to sacrifice top talents, while the playoff system weakens the league's competitive continuity. Thus, the "egalitarianism" of MLS is impeding the upward trajectory of its top teams. 

Infrastructure: the game between capital and systems

The stadium is the foundation of football infrastructure since it serves as the haven for fan culture in addition to a venue for games. 

Stadium facilities: Desert miracles vs. urban landmarks

The football infrastructure scene in Saudi Arabia is being changed by the capital flood from the Public Investment Fund (PIF). Riyadh's King Saud University Stadium (capacity 68,252), for instance, is one of the few stadiums in the world with a retractable roof. 

But these "spectacle stadiums" have usage issues: Apart from the key games of giants like Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr, the attendance rate for the regular league matches usually dips below 30%, with some stadiums even having to offer free tickets to cover the stands. 

More importantly, Saudi Arabia have only a handful of professional football venues (most others are multi-purpose stadiums), and they are concentrated in big cities like Riyadh and Jeddah, therefore creating a clear disparity in regional distribution.

MLS: Commercially driven "community fortresses”

MLS's stadium philosophy is quite different: of the 30 teams, at least 22 have their own specialised football stadiums with an average capacity regulated at about 25,000 people to guarantee attendance and atmosphere. A typical example is Los Angeles FC's BMO Stadium (capacity 22,000), whose 34-degree inclined stands, one of MLS's steepest, bring the viewers barely 4 meters from the pitch mixed with 360-degree LED surround screens. 

Powered by 100% renewable energy, fitted with a rainwater-collecting system, and covered with local plants, Austin FC's Q2 Stadium (capacity 20,738) has established a benchmark for sustainable stadiums.

But MLS's flaws are equally clear: long-standing teams (like the New York Red Bulls) still use shared stadiums (Red Bull Arena also holds rugby events), and the quality of the turf is regularly criticised due to its multifarious use.

Epilogue: Future prophecy—MLS and Saudi Pro League are the crossroads of new football civilisation