Cristiano Ronaldo has fired a parting shot at the English Premier League ahead of his unveiling by Real Madrid, claiming Spain's La Liga is "superior".
Ronaldo will officially swap Manchester United for the Spanish giants when he is presented to the fans and media on Monday evening following his £80m move.
And the winger said: "I think La Liga is going to have more quality because of the players that are arriving.
"All the players have a lot of quality and the referees protect the players."
Ronaldo's arrival follows that of fellow big-money signing Kaka last week.
More than 50,000 Real Madrid fans are said to have turned out to welcome the Brazilian playmaker, who signed from AC Milan for a reported fee of £56m, and Ronaldo's bow is expected to draw an even larger crowd.
The Portuguese international will be presented with the number nine shirt by the most famous player to wear it for the club - the legendary Alfredo di Stefano.
And he believes Real's £200m spending spree this summer, which has resulted in Karim Benzema and Raul Albiol agreeing to switch to the Bernabeu, edges the Spanish league ahead of England's top flight in terms of quality.
"Both leagues are going to be very good but I think that with Real president Florentino Perez`s signings the Spanish league is superior to the English," he stated.
"It's going to be a magnificent competition in Spain this year."
Real are reported to be lining up further big-money moves, with Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery and Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso said to be on their wanted list.
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