Rui Pedro, the former sporting director of Al-Ahli Jeddah, confirmed that the Saudi league is still inferior to the major leagues, noting that Gulf teams always lose in their matches against African clubs.
Pedro had submitted his resignation from the position of sporting director at Al-Ahli Jeddah about three weeks ago, due to his desire to return to working in the European market.
Rui Pedro said in statements reported by the Portuguese newspaper A Bola: "The Saudi league? There is still a big gap... It is pointless to try to hide the truth; the Saudi league truly rivals many European leagues, but it is still inferior to the top five leagues."
He added: "For example, the Saudi league was the sixth most represented league in the 2026 World Cup in terms of number of players, which is an important achievement, but let us look at the fact that all Gulf teams lost to African teams in the Intercontinental Cup over the past three years."
He continued: "Al Ain lost to Al Ahly Egypt, and Al Ahly Saudi Arabia lost to Pyramids last year, and now to Mamelodi Sundowns South Africa."
He completed: "There is still a long way to go for the Saudi league, but there is certainly great interest in developing Saudi football in preparation for the 2034 World Cup."
Rui Pedro concluded his statements by saying: "There is serious and sincere effort, but either there will be greater ability to attract foreign professionals and benefit from their experience and contributions, or development will be slower than expected."
