Ivan Toney: ‘The Saudi Pro League is on par with the Premier League’ | OneFootball

Ivan Toney believes the Saudi Pro League is “on par” with the Premier League and that his current club Al-Ahli would give top four “a good go”.

Toney bid farewell to Brentford to move to the Gulf state last summer and has since earned himself an Asian Champions League winner’s medal, scoring 35 goals in the process.

However, his fine form in Saudi Arabia has not been enough to earn a call from Thomas Tuchel for the most recent round of World Cup qualifiers, with his seat on the USA-bound plane in jeopardy ahead of next year.

The Saudi Pro League has come under heavy fire since its money-fuelled pillaging of European football’s top stars - attracting the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Neymar - something which dominated the 2023 summer transfer window.

However, Toney has slammed those who turn their nose up at the fledgling league and boldly compared the standard to that of the English top flight.

Ivan Toney celebrates winning the Asian Champions League with Al-Ahli (Getty)

“For me, (the Pro League) is on a par with the Premier League,” he told The Guardian. “If (Al-Ahli) were in the Premier League, we’d give it a good go and we’d be close to the top four.

“It is a quality league and people should not turn their noses up.”

Al-Ahli boast numerous recognisable names, with the likes of Riyadh Mahrez, Eduoard Mendy, Franck Kessie and, until this summer, Roberto Firmino teammates of Toney.

Toney cites the triumph of title rivals Al-Hilal to back up his claim, who knocked out Manchester City at the Club World Cup in a stunning 4-3 comeback win. Former Premier League stars Joao Cancelo, Kalidou Koulibaly and Ruben Neves started for the Riyadh-based side that night.

“I was going to tweet, but I would have got killed back home so I kept my mouth shut,” Toney added. “But people saw the quality of Hilal.

“The standard in Saudi Arabia is high. They can play football here. The players are not as known as in the Premier League, but there are many who can play there.”