Al-Hilal’s summer-signing Neymar praised the Saudi Pro League and expressed his desire to win silverware this season.
Neymar had completed a sensational £77.4 million move to Saudi Arabia, signing a two-year contract with Riyadh giants Al-Hilal.
The Brazilian winger is yet to make his debut for Al-Hilal after arriving with a minor injury that kept him sidelined for weeks.
However, the 31-year-old returned to action for Brazil during the international break and was on target twice in his national team’s 5-1 rout of Bolivia in the World Cup qualifiers.
His brace also meant that he has now surpassed legendary figure Pele to become Brazil’s all-time topscorer with 79 goals.
Neymar is now expected to make his first appearance in Al-Hilal colours next week and before making his highly-anticipated debut, the former Barcelona winger was full of praise for the Saudi Pro League.
“There are many great players here,” Neymar said in a press conference for Brazil during the international break.
“I can’t say that the Saudi league is better than Ligue 1 in France yet because I have not played for Al-Hilal yet, it could be.
“But I am sure that anyone who follows both leagues will understand the difference in the level of competition and physicality between both. I assure you that football there is the same. The ball is round and we have goalposts.
“People have criticised the level of competition there and everyone said that about the French league when I went to Paris Saint-Germain, and it was the place where I suffered the most.
“It’s not going to be easy to win the Saudi league title because there are other teams that have become stronger.
“There are world-class players and I’m sure it’s going to be a very interesting league and that you’re going to see it.
“It’s no secret that we have intense training sessions there and the thirst to win is still big. I want to win trophies with Al-Hilal. It doesn’t change much,” he added.