Ronaldo said the quality of the Saudi competition had improved even in his short time in it.
Barcelona kept up the pressure on La Liga title rivals Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid when Lionel Messi struck from the penalty spot in a 1-0 win at Espanyol in Saturday's Catalan derby.
Antoine Griezmann and Samuel Lino scored in each half to give Atletico Madrid a 2-0 win over Lazio on Wednesday that secured them top spot in Champions League Group E, the first time since 2016 that they had reached the knockouts as group winners.
Valencia recaptured fourth place in La Liga from Sevilla when Sofiane Feghouli scored the pick of the goals in a 4-0 stroll at home to second-from-bottom Granada on Monday.
Antoine Griezmann and Yannick Carrasco each conjured moments of magic as Atletico Madrid recaptured top spot in La Liga from Barcelona with a hard-fought 2-0 victory at Celta Vigo on Sunday.
After scoring, Messi stopped and pointed from the field at the team co-owner David Beckham, who was watching the game. The gesture was met with a wide smile from the former Manchester United great who helped lure Messi to the MLS despite a massive counter offer from Saudi Arabia.
Barcelona closed to within a point of La Liga leaders Real Madrid when Lionel Messi scored one goal, created two and conceded a penalty in a 3-1 win at home to champions Atletico Madrid on Sunday that eased pressure on under-fire coach Luis Enrique.
Images from the UEFA Champions League group matches played on Tuesday night.
Spain's league programme will go ahead this weekend after a Madrid court upheld a challenge from six breakaway clubs and blocked proposed strike action.
Lionel Messi scored within three minutes of returning to action for the first time in more than three weeks to help fire La Liga champions Barcelona to a resounding 4-0 home win over Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday.
Frenchman Lenglet's first league start since his 36 million-euro move from Sevilla turned sour when he was shown a straight red card in the 35th minute at the Nou Camp following a coming together with Pons, after referee Jesus Gil Manzano consulted the video assistant referee (VAR).
Alvaro Negredo struck in stoppage-time as stuttering Valencia won 2-1 against his former club Sevilla on Sunday to earn coach Pako Ayesteran victory in his first home game in charge since succeeding Gary Neville.
The enduring image of Luis Enrique for many soccer fans is the Spain player with blood gushing from his nose after a vicious elbow from Italy defender Mauro Tassotti during the 1994 World Cup quarter-final in Boston.
The three-horse race for the La Liga title tightened on Sunday when leaders Real Madrid drew 2-2 at city rivals Atletico and Barcelona won 4-1 at home to Almeria.
Karim Benzema scored twice after the interval with a penalty and a header from a corner to give Santiago Solari's side a 3-1 lead, after Raphael Varane struck in the 34th minute to cancel out Anuar Tuhami's goal for Valladolid five minutes earlier.
Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player to hit 30 La Liga goals in six consecutive seasons as he inspired Real Madrid to a 4-0 thrashing of Eibar on Saturday.
Real are third in the league standings with 54 points after 28 games, two behind second-placed Atletico Madrid who visit Athletic Bilbao later on Saturday and nine points behind leaders Barcelona who play at Real Betis on Sunday.
With the distraction of two individual scoring records safely out of the way, Barcelona forward Lionel Messi can turn his full focus on helping the club win the major silverware that eluded them last season.
Lionel Messi netted his first hat-trick in 10 months as Barcelona swept aside struggling Granada 4-0 to climb above Atletico Madrid to the top of La Liga on Saturday.
Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola and leading scorer Lionel Messi described their 2011 La Liga crown as the toughest of titles after securing top spot with a 1-1 draw at Levante on Wednesday.
Barcelona thrashed Sporting Gijon 6-1 to go top of La Liga on a dramatic night in Spain on Wednesday as Luis Enrique announced he was stepping down as the Catalan club's coach at the end of the season.
Koopmeiners leads Atalanta past Milan into Coppa semis
Barca looked set for a third consecutive league draw as they created scant opportunities but they were presented with the advantage of an extra man when Villarreal midfielder Daniel Raba was given a straight red card for a wild, studs-up challenge on Sergio Busquets on the hour mark.
Man Utd sign Mount from Chelsea on five-year deal
Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off as leaders Real Madrid beat Cordoba 2-1 in La Liga on Saturday thanks to late Gareth Bale penalty.
Barcelona forward Luis Suarez was included in the starting lineup for Saturday's La Liga 'Clasico' against Real Madrid, a day after his four-month ban for biting an opponent expired.
Real Madrid and Barcelona pulled two points clear in La Liga when Cristiano Ronaldo set a club scoring record in Real's 3-0 stroll against Levante and Neymar hit four as Barca beat Rayo Vallecano 5-2 on Saturday.
Barcelona's outlay of 20 million euros ($22 million) on Jeremy Mathieu last July prompted plenty of criticism but the France centre back has been worth his weight in gold in the La Liga leaders' last two outings.
Barcelona would not be allowed to play in La Liga if Catalonia broke away from Spain, the country's football league chief Javier Tebas said as tensions mounted in the region over the possibility of an independence referendum next month.
Gareth Bale struck his first Real Madrid hat-trick and set up another goal in a thumping 4-0 La Liga victory over Real Valladolid on Saturday.
Sevilla drew level on points with Barcelona at the top of La Liga when they snatched a 2-1 comeback victory at home to Villarreal, while champions Atletico Madrid won 1-0 in a bad-tempered clash at Getafe on Sunday.
Leaders Barcelona suffered their first defeat in La Liga this season when Real Sociedad stormed back from two-goals down and made the most of a red card for Gerard Pique to record a 3-2 home win on Saturday.
Lionel Messi's late penalty saw bedraggled Barcelona scrape a 2-1 victory over Leganes on Sunday at a divided Nou Camp as the La Liga champions looked as if they had still not recovered from their harrowing midweek defeat to Paris St Germain.
Real Madrid made sure Barcelona will have to wait at least until Sunday to wrap up a 22nd La Liga title when Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 200th goal for the club in a 6-2 win at home to nine-man Malaga on Wednesday.
Pedro scored twice as Barcelona made heavy weather of beating promoted Levante 2-1 to move five points clear at the top of La Liga on Sunday.
Bayern expect a top performance against Manchester United, says Tuchel
Atletico Madrid put last week's painful defeat by Real Madrid behind them with a 3-0 win over Osasuna on Sunday that included two goals in the space of a minute and allowed them to return to the top four in La Liga.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Barcelona left it late to snatch a 1-0 win at Valencia on Sunday after Atletico Madrid's 2-0 victory at home to Deportivo La Coruna was overshadowed by the death of a visiting fan hours before kickoff.
Real Sociedad will join Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, and LaLiga champions Barcelona in Europe's elite club competition next season.
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