Of course, there have been many high-profile football players who have stepped into Saudi Arabia in recent years.
Five -time Ballon D’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo is probably the most famous of them, but also Neymar, N’Golo Thorn and Riyadh Mahrez, who continued to be elected by their respective national teams after taking steps.
Actually, Tony may come against his Al-Ahli team partner Edouded Mendi when England plays Senegal next week.
Looking through the list of squads, the Saudi Pro League has a lot of recognizable names, but despite this, the overall standard of the league is considered quite low.
In Opta’s most recent power rankings, the Saudi Pro League was ranked just as the 29th-seven strong in the world, just behind the Ecuador Leiga Pro.
“Tony has publicly referred to the standard for football in Saudi Arabia,” has been surprised by the Gulf -based sports journalist John Macauli, who covers the Saudi Pro League, told the BBC Sport.
“This is much higher than expectation and obviously due to the influx of proper international players coming in the league.
“Saudi always stood very high in Asian football-the four-time winning records of the Al-Hilal Asian Champions League are.
“Local players’ levels are still very good, but when you think that the defenders are against Tony, he is still playing against Aymeric Laport in Al-Nasar, Kalidau Kulibali in Al-Hilal, Denilo Perera, who came for Al-Etihad from PSG-hence he is still playing against European standard players.
Despite the perception of the league he is playing, there is no doubt that Tony arrived as a player as a player in the England camp, enjoying a great scoring run in the second part of the season to help Al-Ahli become Asia’s champion.
McCalli said, “He finished with a few runs like 19 goals in his last 19 league games, finishing two goals behind Cristiano Ronaldo in the Golden Boot race,” said Macoli.
“Very big thing, and something that really integrates them with fans, has he played an important role in winning the Asian Champions League Elite for the first time in Al-Ahli.”
Tony told 5 Live, “For the first time for Saudi, it was a big,” infection. “
“Obviously, people are going to wonder how he is going to face and how is he going to happen?”
“It has been a good season with winning a trophy. It was a big thing for me, I have not won many trophies, but being a part of it was a big moment.”