Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have been in contrast for practically twenty years, and even now, with each stars taking part in in rising leagues, the talk hasn’t slowed down. In truth, a former Ronaldo teammate at Al Nassr has taken intention at Main League Soccer whereas defending the Saudi Professional League.
One of many gamers who made a robust influence on the membership earlier than Ronaldo’s high-profile arrival was Anderson Talisca. The Brazilian spent 4 years with the SPL facet between 2021 and 2025, changing into one of many Portuguese star’s most dependable attacking companions.
In an interview with Brazilian outlet Bahia in Could 2025, Talisca in contrast the 2 leagues, making his stance clear: “The Saudi league has by no means been weaker than MLS. In truth, when Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami went to Saudi Arabia and misplaced 6–0 — and I scored three targets — it occurred on my birthday.“
Talisca was referring to the February 2024 matchup between Al Nassr and Inter Miami. In that recreation, with Messi on the sector and Ronaldo watching from the stands attributable to damage, the Saudi facet dominated in a 6–0 win. Talisca celebrated his hat trick by performing the “Siu,” Ronaldo’s iconic celebration.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Anderson Talisca have a good time after scoring for Al Nassr.
The present Fenerbahce participant didn’t cease there, taking one other shot on the North American league. “There’s no approach of evaluating them, each leagues are fully totally different. The league Messi performs in has gamers who play after which go to school to review; simply from that, you possibly can already see a giant distinction,” he mentioned, dismissing MLS.
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The time when Talisca took intention at Ronaldo
Regardless of his reward for the SPL, Talisca’s exit from Al Nassr was removed from easy, with Ronaldo’s affect inside the squad and the league rising considerably. In March 2025, as Colombian ahead Jhon Durán confronted heavy criticism for Al Nassr’s poor type, Talisca stepped in to defend him.
Responding to followers on social media, he wrote on X (previously Twitter): “He (Duran) is a superb participant and can do so much for this membership. The issue is that you simply all the time need to discover somebody responsible for the defeats, however you don’t see the place the true mistake lies. Cease performing like this on a regular basis. You understand the place the error is, you’re simply afraid to say it, lol.”
As Durán turned a scapegoat, Talisca mirrored on the state of affairs. “And on high of that, you need to do to Durán what they did to me, to profit others,” he added, a remark broadly interpreted as a jab at Ronaldo, who was struggling for type on the time however remained largely shielded from criticism.
