Saudi Pro League sporting director Michael Emenalo has expressed his enthusiasm about the prospect of welcoming Lionel Messi to the competition.
Despite being overlooked for Major League Soccer earlier this year, Messi noted that he had contemplated a move to Saudi Arabia before eventually joining Inter Miami in MLS.
In response, Emenalo said, “The reasons that he ended up in MLS is something that I don’t have answers to. If he decides next season that he wants to come here, we will be happy to welcome him.”
Messi told TIME that “I was thinking a lot about going to the Saudi league, where I know the country and they have created a very powerful competition that can become an important league in the near future.”
“It was Saudi Arabia or MLS, and both options seemed very interesting to me,” the 36-year-old added.