It's a time of year when a lot of silly conjecture receives more oxygen than it should. It's important to keep at context in mind when addressing recent reporting from Italy's Corriere dello Sport that Saudi titans Al Nassr have an interest in signing Christian Pulisic from AC Milan for the upcoming season. And to be clear, the report is only about "interest" and not any sort of formal offer.
Such a move could unite the 26-year-old American star with global icon Cristiano Ronaldo, and probably earn him more salary than any other club on earth would be willing to pay for his services.
But for the purposes of U.S. men's national team manager Mauricio Pochettino and his charges, a move to the Saudi Pro League would be a nightmare scenario. Even an unlikely transfer to an MLS club would be better in terms of keeping the Hershey, Pa., native sharp for next summer. And obviously, remaining at a high level in Europe with AC Milan or elsewhere would be ideal.
The Saudi Pro Leauge is among the world's most unbalanced
Despite the undeniable money being poured into Saudi Arabia's biggest clubs, the truth is that the week-to-week competitive demands of the Saudi Pro League are far inferior even to MLS when you're playing for one of those big teams.
You can see this reflected in the finished 2024-2025 table, where six teams posted goal differentials of +22 or better, and 10 posted season margins of -13 or worse. Or you can look at Al Nassr's results, in which they earned 15 wins by multiple goals, mostly against the bottom portion of what may be the world's most unbalanced top flight. Put another way, 76% of the league's transfer valuation, according to Transfermarkt, is concentrated in 28% of its teams.
Their goal differential in the league phase of the AFC Champions League was even stronger on a per-match basis, at +11 over eight games total.
MLS not as rich, but more competitive
No, Pulisic might not face opponents as talented as league rivals and Club World Cup quarterfinalists Al Hilal in MLS. But he would be playing in a league where every week offered the legitimate chance of victory or defeat.
He would also almost certainly be playing with the burden of being a team leader, whereas at Al Nassr, he might even live in relative anonymity compared to the attention paid to Ronaldo and others.
And the trans-Atlantic travel to represent the USMNT in fall and spring friendly tuneups before next summer would be erased. In Saudi Arabia, it would get even worse.
Of course, there's no reason he can't keep excelling in Europe either as one of AC Milan's best players or somewhere else that could offer continental competition this season. That's the ideal.
But for all the drawbacks a hypothetical MLS move might have -- one most fans would consider laughable right now -- the conditions to prepare him for the Summer of 2026 are desirable relative to what the SPL can offer.