Cristiano Ronaldo has been forewarned by Xavi that playing for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia may be a nasty surprise.
Many supporters think the Portuguese star chose the easy route when he left Europe to secure a £175 million-per-year contract in the middle east.
However, Barcelona manager Xavi, who spent six years in the nation before moving on to lead Al Sadd as a player, does not believe the 37-year-final old's chapter will go as smoothly as anticipated.
He said: 'Ronaldo has signed for one of the best clubs in Saudi Arabia, but it's a challenge.
'This league is very complicated. I played against several of their teams when I coached Al Sadd. It will be a challenge.'
There are questions about the veracity of Ronaldo's camp's assertions that he considered several offers from the top five European leagues before deciding on his future.
Teams were put off by the experienced free agent's age, salary, and inflammatory interview that resulted in his disgraceful departure from Manchester United, so he decided to accept a two-year contract with Al-Nassr instead.
But Xavi believes there is some hypocrisy to criticism. He went on: 'We are professionals in this sport. This is a business, there is a context that makes us come here and for the good of Spanish football we come here.
'All this benefits us all, clubs with financial problems earn money. There was also a lot of criticism of Qatar and then it has been seen that it is not that bad.
'Saudi Arabia has things to improve, but that’s the same as in Spain, where we have 200 hundred things to improve. Everyone deserves that football should go around the world.'
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