Wrexham's fierce National League title battle with Notts County has been comparable to the great rivalry between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, according to Ben Tozer.

There has been a great deal of focus on Wrexham over the past two seasons after the club were bought by Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

The Welsh side have thrived in the spotlight, finishing second last year and falling agonisingly short in an epic play-off defeat to Grimsby Town.

Wrexham bounced back this season and are now in pole position for the single automatic promotion place, needing only to beat Boreham Wood on Saturday to seal their return to the Football League.

That is only after a remarkable tussle with Notts County, however, culminating in the dramatic 3-2 Easter Monday win at the Racecourse Ground.

Both Wrexham and Notts have passed 100 points, with the league leaders setting a points record for the top five divisions of English football.

For defender Tozer, that incredible standard encourages comparisons with perhaps football's greatest rivalry, which saw Messi at Barcelona and Ronaldo at Real Madrid hit their peaks at the same time.

"Everyone would rather have won the league by March, and that's just the way things are," Tozer said, looking forward to the Boreham Wood game.

"People generally want things easy, but if you want to go and win a league, it's tough, it's hard. You have to do the right thing day in and day out.

"And again, it's been great to have that pressure. It probably was the same. We'd both be pushing each other really, and that's okay.

"It's a bit like the Messi and Ronaldo situation pushing each other on. It's been tough and it's been good."

Real Madrid goal hero Rodrygo celebrated like Cristiano Ronaldo after extinguishing Chelsea's Champions League hopes, later revealing he did so out of self-preservation as much as inspiration.

A double from Brazilian forward Rodrygo gave Madrid a 2-0 victory at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday to carry Carlo Ancelotti's team through to the semi-finals.

The 22-year-old Santos player took his tally to 15 goals in 37 games in the competition, of which just 19 appearances have been as a starter.

It was after his first goal that Rodrygo performed the signature Ronaldo 'siu' celebration, the jump and twist followed by a pose reminiscent of Madrid's all-time record scorer.

He did it to spare a problematic knee any further aggravation, and as a tribute to the Champions League's 140-goal leading marksman.

Rodrygo told Movistar: "First I thought about sliding on my knee, but I have inflammation, and then my idol, Cristiano, came to my mind and I did it."

He added: "I hope to continue like this, scoring more goals and giving assists and winning the Champions League more times."

Madrid await the winner of the tie between Manchester City and Bayern Munich, with the reigning English champions 3-0 ahead in that ahead of Wednesday's second leg in Germany.

It could therefore be a repeat of last season's semi-final, when Madrid came back from a 5-3 deficit in the dying stages of the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu to win in extra time.

On that occasion, Rodrygo's late double – scoring in the 90th minute and then in stoppage time – sensationally kept the LaLiga giants in the tie before Karim Benzema's penalty left City crestfallen.

A rematch would be an occasion to cherish, but Rodrygo said: "We don't know if it's against City. The Champions League is very difficult, we can no longer choose opponents and they are all difficult."

Al Nassr showed Rudi Garcia the door on Thursday and handed little-known Croatian Dinko Jelicic the chance to boss Cristiano Ronaldo in the Saudi Pro League.

Roma head coach Jose Mourinho had been linked with a possible Ronaldo reunion, having coached the Portuguese at Real Madrid.

Spanish newspaper AS this week claimed Mourinho had been offered a two-year contract worth €100million.

For now at least, Al Nassr have put Jelicic in charge, promoting him from his position in charge of their under-19 team.

The Riyadh-based club said: "Al Nassr can announce that head coach Rudi Garcia has left the club by mutual agreement.

"The board and everyone at Al Nassr would like to thank Rudi and his staff for their dedicated work during the past 8 months.

"We can announce that our U19 coach, Mr Dinko Jelicic will be the new head coach for the first team. Good luck, Mr Dinko."

Frenchman Garcia was a Ligue 1 winner as head coach of Lille in 2010-11 and the 59-year-old has also bossed Roma, Marseille and Lyon.

He was appointed in late June last year and departs with Al Nassr sitting second in the Pro League with seven games remaining, three points behind leaders Al Ittihad, to whom they lost last month.

Ronaldo's arrival as a free agent after his release by Manchester United was announced in late December, and the 38-year-old superstar has drawn unprecedented attention to the league.

Real Madrid's record scorer spent three seasons playing under fellow Portuguese Mourinho at the Santiago Bernabeu from 2010 to 2013, and it remains to be seen whether they are reacquainted in the future.

Jelicic gets the chance to lead the team for now, and he may make the job his own.

Should Al Nassr fall short of overhauling Al Ittihad, however, they may have reason to think again, and it could prove less disruptive to prise away a top coach of Mourinho's ilk during the close season rather than at the business end.

Pep Guardiola believes Erling Haaland is a match for Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as a pure goalscorer after the striker netted his 44th goal of the season on Saturday.

Haaland scored twice as Manchester City won 4-1 away at Southampton to move them within five points of Premier League leaders Arsenal, who play Liverpool later in the weekend.

The striker's second, a brilliant acrobatic volley, took him to 44 goals in all competitions in his first season in England, now tied for the most ever by a Premier League player in a single campaign alongside Ruud van Nistelrooy (2002-03) and Mohamed Salah (2017-18).

Of those goals, 30 have come in the league, and Guardiola was full of praise for Haaland after the win, comparing his prolific talisman to two of football's greats.

"The second goal was amazing," Guardiola told BBC's Match of the Day. "It is not easy to pick the ball up in the sky and put it on the grass.

"His talent is really good. We need him. The first half was not our best level, but he changed the game.

"As a top scorer, we lived two incredible decades with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, but he is on that level. He scores a lot of goals."

Southampton, the Premier League's bottom side, largely kept City at bay in the first half until a crashing header from Haaland put the reigning champions ahead in the 45th minute.

Guardiola acknowledged Saints' stubborn display in the opening period, saying: "I give a lot of credit to Southampton. Their game plan was really, really good.

"Sometimes you have to give credit to the opposition when you're not at your level. We were fortunate to be ahead at half-time.

"We had more physicality in the second half. We found the second goal after we won a duel, and after it was easy."

City's win puts the pressure back on an Arsenal side heading to an unhappy hunting ground in Anfield, having not picked up three points there since the 2012-13 campaign, when now-manager Mikel Arteta was starting in midfield for the Gunners.

Guardiola would prefer to be in their place, though, in terms of the Premier League title race, saying: "I would like to be in the position Arsenal are in. I would love that. It is what it is."

Al Nassr celebrated Cristiano Ronaldo's record-breaking Portugal appearance in style.

Given his impeccable commitment to athleticism, Ronaldo might not have dug into the cake he was presented with on Friday.

Al Nassr were celebrating the 38-year-old becoming the most-capped men's player of all time.

Ronaldo made his 197th appearance for Portugal on March 23, scoring twice in a 4-0 defeat of Liechtenstein.

Along with marking that achievement, Al Nassr also celebrated Abdulrahman Ghareeb's 25th birthday.

"Today, we celebrate a record and birthday," the club tweeted. "The record of most capped player in international football [and] the birthday of a talented Saudi player."

Wayne Rooney has praised Manchester United for moving on from Cristiano Ronaldo's exit, while backing their new talisman Marcus Rashford to beat his own Red Devils goals record.

Ronaldo left United for the second time in acrimonious circumstances in November, having declared he did not respect manager Erik ten Hag during an incendiary interview with British broadcaster Piers Morgan.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner then joined Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr, while United have enjoyed a successful spell, winning the EFL Cup and strengthening their grip on a top-four spot in the Premier League.

Asked about Ronaldo's controversial departure during an interview with CNN, United's all-time leading scorer Rooney said: "I suppose he got what he wanted.

"For Manchester United, it was important to move on as quick as possible from that and really refocus on the group of players who were there and wanted to be there. 

"I think that's where Ten Hag has done a really good job in refocusing the players and getting them in a position where they are, obviously comfortably in the top four, and also winning the [EFL] Cup."

Asked whether Ronaldo's turbulent second stint at Old Trafford harmed his standing with the club's supporters, Rooney added: "No, I think what he's done for Manchester United is great. 

"He's won Premier League titles, won the Champions League, scored many goals. I think certainly for the fans and his former team-mates, we'll never forget what he did for Manchester United. 

"In my eyes, he'll always be a club legend and it's a shame the way it ended, of course, this time round. But I don't think that takes anything away from his legacy at the club."

Rashford has stepped up since Ronaldo left United, scoring 19 times in 25 appearances after returning from the World Cup.

Rooney saw his record total of 53 England goals surpassed by Harry Kane last week, and he hopes his tally of 253 goals in a United shirt will one day be within Rashford's reach. 

"We've all known about Marcus, even before he was in the first team, coming through the academy," Rooney said.

"He's a top player and he fell off a little bit over the last 18 months especially. And again, I think Ten Hag has come in and really simplified it for him.

"I'm not a player who sits on records and hopes no one breaks them. I hope he does it. I think it's a great story and it means he's been very successful with the club and been there a long time and scored a lot of goals if he does do it. So I hope he does. 

"I think he certainly has the ability and the capabilities to be able to do it. I'm sure, or I hope, sometime in the next few years I'll be able to pass that mantle onto him."

Bruno Fernandes does not believe Portugal needed the "breath of fresh air" that Cristiano Ronaldo was looking forward to under Roberto Martinez.

Martinez has taken charge of Portugal for the first time in this international break, having succeeded Fernando Santos following the World Cup.

The former Belgium coach has overseen 4-0 and 6-0 defeats of Liechtenstein and Luxembourg respectively to begin Euro 2024 qualifying.

Captain Ronaldo scored twice in each match, having earlier spoken of "fresh air now, different ideas and mentality" with Martinez at the helm.

Despite the positive start, that is not an assessment team-mate Fernandes agrees with.

"No, it's just a new coach with new ideas," the Manchester United midfielder told RTP3 after Sunday's win against Luxembourg.

"There is no breath of fresh air at all. It's just a transition period.

"The atmosphere in the national team has always been good. There's never been anything that wasn't fresh of the air, so I think it's just new dynamics, new coach, and you have to assimilate his ideas."

Fernandes was handed his Portugal debut by Santos, who had guided the Selecao to their first major honour at Euro 2016.

Portugal failed to build on that strong start to the coach's tenure, however, exiting the 2018 World Cup and Euro 2020 at the last-16 stage.

Santos then departed after a shock quarter-final exit at the hands of Morocco at Qatar 2022, with Ronaldo dropped for the knockout rounds.

Roberto Martinez hailed the experience of Cristiano Ronaldo as the 38-year-old scored twice in Portugal's 6-0 thrashing of Luxembourg.

Ronaldo followed up his brace against Liechtenstein on Thursday with another on Sunday at the Stade de Luxembourg as Portugal made it two wins from two to start their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign.

Joao Felix, Bernardo Silva, Otavio and Rafael Leao added the other goals, and Martinez was quick to praise Ronaldo for his contributions in the Spaniard's first games as head coach.

"Cristiano has incredible international experience, probably unique as he is the only player [in the world] with 198 caps," he said at a post-match press conference. "His experience is very important in the dressing room."

Former Belgium boss Martinez also claimed he was happier with another clean sheet than with his team's attacking display, and reserved praise for 19-year-old centre-back Antonio Silva, who replaced Goncalo Inacio from the Liechtenstein win.

"I value the zero goals against more than the six goals, the penalty and the great attacking game we played here in Luxembourg," he said. "This game was not easy. What was important in both games was work and consistency.

"It wasn't just changing some of the options. There are many options, it was more a change due to the physical demands. It was important to see Goncalo Inacio play well in the first game [v Liechtenstein], but for a young man, three days after a game, it was also important for him to rest.

"It was important to see Antonio Silva entering a very important position, getting on the ball and going up against Luxembourg's attack.

"It was good to see Antonio Silva together with the experience of Ruben Dias and Danilo Pereira. And Rui Patricio was also very good, so the team was very strong defensively in this game."

Portugal top Group J ahead of Slovakia by two points, with the next round of fixtures coming in June when the Selecao host Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Portugal eased to a 6-0 win away at Luxembourg in Euro 2024 qualifying.

Ronaldo got the ball rolling early on with a tap-in, before further goals from Joao Felix and Bernardo Silva made it 3-0 inside 18 minutes, while Ronaldo added another just after the half-hour mark.

Second-half goals from substitutes Otavio and Rafael Leao completed another routine victory for Portugal after their 4-0 win over Liechtenstein to kick off their qualifying campaign and the rein of new head coach Roberto Martinez.

They sit top of Group J after two games, two points ahead of Slovakia in second after their win against Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Portugal took the lead in the ninth minute when a ball to the far post from Bruno Fernandes was headed back across goal by Nuno Mendes, giving Ronaldo a simple tap-in from close range.

The advantage was doubled just six minutes later, as this time Silva's inswinging ball from the right was nodded across Luxembourg goalkeeper Anthony Moris and into the corner of the net by Joao Felix.

Silva got on the end of a long pass from Joao Palhinha to head in the third, while Ronaldo grabbed his second and Portugal's fourth in the 31st minute when Fernandes played him through on goal, with the Al Nassr striker placing his left-foot shot low to Moris' right.

Portugal had another in the 77th minute when Leao and Otavio combined, with the latter heading home the Milan attacker's cross from the left.

Leao saw a late penalty saved by Moris after winning it himself, but made up for it shortly after when his run inside from the left ended with a composed finish.

Another week, another landmark for Lionel Messi as the Argentina superstar scored his 800th career goal in Thursday's friendly against Panama.

It's been an almighty journey for the all-time great, who has basically won everything on offer and claimed a record haul of seven Ballons d'Or along the way.

The player regarded by many as the greatest ever, Messi reached his latest milestone with a picture-perfect free kick in the 89th minute against Panama, curling one into the top corner after crashing two prior free kicks into the crossbar.

Although Messi hits new landmarks so frequently, at the age of 35 he is approaching a point where such achievements will become a little rarer.

With that in mind, it's worth celebrating Messi and his feats while we still can – therefore, Stats Perform has delved into the Opta data behind his latest accomplishment.

On the receiving end

It's nearly 18 years since Messi's first goal in professional football. Then a floppy-haired 17-year-old, he latched on to a Ronaldinho pass before lifting a clever lob over Albacete goalkeeper Raul Valbuena on May 1, 2005.

That goal has since become famous given its significance in marking the arrival of Messi – it also left a mark on the career of Valbuena.

"The press calls me every time he's broken a record or achieved something important, especially press from Catalonia," he told Marca nine years later. "To me, it's a funny anecdote in my career as a goalkeeper."

Well, it's all right for some. Many goalkeepers have had to contend with Messi smashing past them a few more times than Valbuena's single concession.

In total, 232 goalkeepers had let in a goal against Messi before Thursday. No one conceded more than Diego Alves, however, with the Brazilian beaten 21 times. Iker Casillas is a close second (19).

Returning the favour

Of course, over his career Messi has also become synonymous with creativity, routinely setting up goals for his team-mates.

But, given how many he's scored, he's also had to benefit from plenty of service from his colleagues as well – when he's not doing it all himself.

There are several players with whom he's struck up particularly effective on-pitch relationships.

For years, his combination with Dani Alves was unrivalled, the Brazilian setting up 42 of Messi's goals, but then along came Luis Suarez.

Suarez, Messi and Neymar were a revered and feared front three, their understanding on the pitch so deadly. The Uruguayan ended up assisting 47 goals for Messi across their six years together, with no one else teeing him up more often.

Messi also has his favourite clubs to score against. Impressively, Real Madrid (26) are right up there – but there are four teams he has punished more.

Athletic Bilbao (29), Valencia (31) and Atletico Madrid (32) all struggled against him, but if there has been one team who have resembled lambs to the slaughter when facing Messi, it's Sevilla (38).

Heights few have reached

The world of football numbers can be a little muddy. What constitutes an official goal? What's an official competition?

As such, there has been lots of confusion regarding the 'official' goals hauls of players down the years – we're looking at you, Pele and Romario.

The International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) considers Cristiano Ronaldo to be the world record holder, stating in December 2021 that the Portugal forward was the first player to reach 800 official career goals.

This makes Messi the second to reach that figure, with Opta corroborating his career record. There remains a possibility he will eventually reach 1,000. No one is expecting him to get there soon, though.

After all, as good as he remains, achievements like scoring 91 times in a calendar year – as he managed in 2012 – appear to be beyond him these days.

That was his best ever year, which – perhaps unsurprisingly – coincided with his most prolific season (2011-12), when he scored 82 goals.

Still, the 35 goals he plundered in 2022 wasn't a bad return, especially given that haul included seven en route to World Cup success with Argentina.

Still to come?

There aren't many records at Barcelona that don't already belong to Messi. Top scorer? Done. Most appearances? Completed it. The most-photographed person at Camp Nou? Probably.

It seems unlikely Messi will be around at PSG long enough to have the same kind of impact there, but he certainly still has career targets in sight.

There's the aforementioned 1,000 goals landmark, though before then he will have his eyes on more international achievements.

Messi's free kick to seal Thursday's 2-0 win left him just one from reaching 100 with Argentina, and after that he'll perhaps have designs on usurping both Ali Daei (109) and Ronaldo (120), the two highest-scoring players in men's international football.

Similarly, with Ronaldo now out of the way in Saudi Arabia, Messi could also take his record for the most Champions League goals (140) – Messi is on 129.

But regardless of what else he does or doesn't go on to achieve, Thursday's milestone is just another reminder of how fortunate we've been to witness Messi's truly remarkable career.

Lionel Messi reached the latest major milestone of his storied career on Thursday as he moved on to 800 goals with a stunning free kick for to seal Argentina's 2-0 friendly win against Panama on Thursday.

The reigning World Cup champions returned to Buenos Aires where they received a thunderous reception from their loyal supporters, but they would have to wait until the final moments for their favourite son to get on the scoresheet.

Messi had hit the crossbar with a free kick in the first half, and after a second free kick was saved by inspired Panama goalkeeper Jose Guerra, he struck the woodwork again with a third free kick, although this one led to the opening goal as Thiago Almada tapped in the rebound.

But his fourth free kick finally curled under the bar and into the top-right corner, sending the stadium into raptures.

Of course, it was not so long ago that Messi hit another goals landmark.

His tap-in from Kylian Mbappe's inch-perfect cross against Marseille on February 26 was the 700th club goal of Messi's career – the strike against Panama was only his second for club or country since then.

Messi's stunner at El Monumental on Thursday was his 99th on the international stage.

Only his old nemesis Cristiano Ronaldo (120) and Iran legend Ali Daei (109) have scored more goals in international men's football than Messi, who looks set to continue playing for Argentina for a little while yet.

As such, his 100th goal for the Albiceleste is seemingly just around the corner.

But much like with that international milestone, Messi is not the first player to reach 800 across a full career.

Data can get a little murkier when you go deep into the past, with historical inconsistencies making it a little tricky to classify "official goals" or "official competitions".

The likes of Brazilian greats Romario and Pele are among a group of players deemed by some to have scored over 1,000 goals over their careers, but many of those were netted in friendlies or "unofficial" games.

The International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) considered Cristiano Ronaldo to be the first player to ever reach 800 official goals in December 2021.

With that in mind, Thursday's goal makes Messi the second to reach the landmark, and he is still going strong.

He has scored 18 for the season (all competitions) with PSG, though he also netted seven in as many games at Qatar 2022 as Argentina won the World Cup.

Of course, the vast majority of his 800 goals have been scored in the colours of Barcelona.

During 17 years with Barca's first team, Messi scored 672 times. That is 440 more than any other player in the club's history, while he also holds their record for most appearances (778).

And with his future at PSG in doubt, he could yet extend those records at Camp Nou.

Roberto Martinez believes Cristiano Ronaldo's experience and commitment is crucial to Portugal's new cycle.

Ronaldo became the most-capped men's player of all time when he took to the field in Lisbon on Thursday for his 197th Portugal appearance.

The 38-year-old marked the occasion with two goals, scoring from the penalty spot before lashing in a free-kick to complete a 4-0 rout over Liechtenstein in Euro 2024 qualifying Group J.

Joao Cancelo put Portugal ahead early on and Bernardo Silva netted shortly after half-time, with Martinez's tenure getting off to the simplest of starts.

Ronaldo was dropped to the bench by previous coach Fernando Santos for Portugal's World Cup knock-out games, but Martinez wanted to get the five-time Ballon d'Or winner into his starting XI.

"It's a new cycle," Martinez told Portuguese media outlets.

"It's important for a player to show commitment and [to know] that we can use his experience, and Cristiano shows that."

Posting on social media, Ronaldo expressed his pride at sending yet another record tumbling.

"Such good feelings to play and score again for our national team, in a special stadium for me," Ronaldo wrote. "Proud to be the [most-capped] international player ever."

Reflecting on his team's dominant display, in which Portugal had 35 attempts and accumulated an expected goals (xG) of 3.9 to Liechtenstein's 0.03, Martinez said: "We have to enjoy situations like this.

"I realised that when you play for Portugal it's special. The players follow that line, it was a step forward to prepare for the next game.

"Of course it's an opportunity for me to get to know the players, the interaction, see how to take better advantage of the qualities. But I'm left with the attitude and willingness to work. I'm very proud of the result."

Portugal continue their qualification campaign against Luxembourg on Sunday.

Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated becoming the most-capped men's player of all time with a double as Portugal thrashed Liechtenstein 4-0 in Roberto Martinez's first game.

Ronaldo scored just once at last year's World Cup, and there had been doubts over whether he would return for Portugal's Euro 2024 qualification campaign.

But having been named as captain in Martinez's starting XI for Thursday's match at Estadio Jose Alvalade, Ronaldo scored twice in the space of 12 minutes – a cool penalty followed by a wicked free-kick – to help cap an emphatic win and mark his record appearance in style.

Ronaldo's goals followed strikes from Joao Cancelo and Bernardo Silva as Portugal got off to the simplest of starts in Group J.

Liechtenstein's resistance lasted just eight minutes. The visitors failed to clear their lines following Bruno Fernandes' corner, and Cancelo's deflected strike from the edge of the area squirmed under Benjamin Buchel.

Ronaldo squandered two golden opportunities to extend Portugal's lead, firing over when one-on-one with Buchel before sending a free header wide.

Portugal's wait for a second ended 68 seconds after the restart, Silva on hand to tuck home after a cross was blocked into his path, and Ronaldo had his goal four minutes later.

Jens Hofer clumsily felled Cancelo, with Ronaldo drilling the resultant penalty into the bottom-left corner.

The offside flag cut Ronaldo's celebrations short when he prodded in from close range, but a superb 63rd-minute free-kick had too much power on it for Buchel.

There was no hat-trick for Ronaldo, who made way in the 78th minute, with the job done for new boss Martinez.

Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo has become the most-capped men's international footballer of all time.

The Al Nassr forward won his 197th cap in Thursday's opening Euro 2024 qualifier against Liechtenstein, moving him one clear of Kuwait forward Bader Al-Mutawa.

Malaysia's Soh Chin Ann (195 caps) is third on the list, with Ahmed Hassan (184) and Ahmed Mubarak (183) of Egypt and Oman respectively completing the top five.

Ronaldo had equalled Al-Mutawa's record when featuring for Portugal in their World Cup quarter-final defeat to Morocco in December.

Speaking ahead of the meeting with Liechtenstein at Estadio Jose Alvalade, Ronaldo revealed he contemplated retiring from international football after that defeat.

But he was named in new head coach Roberto Martinez's first squad and made more history when appearing against minnows Liechtenstein in Lisbon.

Ronaldo, who also holds the record for most men's international goals (118), earned his first cap in 2003 when replacing Luis Figo in a friendly against Kazakhstan.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner, who won Euro 2016 with Portugal, has played against Luxembourg (10 games) more times than any other nation, followed by Spain (nine).

Luxembourg are also the country Ronaldo has scored against the most, finding the net nine times, while he has scored seven times against Lithuania and Sweden.

He has played 47 times for Portugal at major tournaments – 25 times at the European Championships and 22 at the World Cup – and is hopeful of featuring at Euro 2024.

"My biggest wish is to be able to take Portugal as high as possible," Ronaldo said on Wednesday. "I will always play my part when needed.

"Earning records is always a positive thing and it motivated me. I like to break records and will now break another special one. It makes me very proud.

"But beyond [Thursday] I still have plenty of games left. Let's see if the coach still wants to count on me to be available."

Cristiano Ronaldo is confident the Saudi Pro League can become one of the world's best competitions in the years to come.

The Portugal captain joined Saudi Arabia's Al Nassr in the aftermath of the 2022 World Cup, with his second spell with Manchester United brought an abrupt end prior to the tournament in Qatar.

A free agent after the Selecao's quarter-final exit at the hands of Morocco, Ronaldo promptly moved to the Middle East and has quickly settled, scoring nine goals in eight Pro League appearances.

While widely considered a weaker league than those in Europe, Ronaldo believes those matches have prepared him for Portugal duty and expects the reputation of the Saudi top flight to improve in time.

"I feel really good," he said ahead of Portugal's Euro 2024 qualifier against Liechtenstein. "That's why I'm here. If I didn't think so, I wouldn't be.

"I'm in a very competitive league. They should look at the Saudi championship differently.

"Obviously, it's not like the Premier League, I'd be lying if I said it was, but it's competitive. I'm surprised by the strength. It has good teams, it is balanced, the Arab players are good, the foreigners give quality.

"Possibly it will be, in five to six years' time, if they continue this plan, the fourth or fifth most competitive league in the world."

Ronaldo's return to United had not ended well as he fell out with Erik ten Hag and fired shots at the club in a no-holds-barred interview while still contracted at Old Trafford.

"Sometimes you have to go through a few things to see who's on my side," he said on Wednesday. "At a difficult stage, you see who is on your side.

"I have no problem saying I've had a bad time in my career, but there's no time for regrets.

"Life goes on and, doing well or not, it was part of my growth. When we're at the top of the mountain, we often can't see what's down.

"Now I am more prepared and this learning was important, because I had never been through this as in the last few months. Now I'm a better man."