SUMMARY
- Ronaldo's claim comparing the Saudi and French leagues stirred anger among fans and organizations, as he argued that the Saudi league is not inferior to the French league in terms of competitiveness.
- When asked about this claim, Paulo Fonseca, the manager of LOSC Lille, expressed happiness for him in Saudi Arabia, saying there are some things not worth his time.
Cristiano Ronaldo has come under massive scrutiny recently. Being an arrogant character since his youth days, Ronaldo loves to claim his mark. And once again, he went on to prove his mark by making a controversial claim.
During the Dubai Globe Soccer Awards 2024, Ronaldo made a massive claim which made several fans and even some organizations angry. That claim he stated was, “The level right now? To be honest, I think the Saudi league is not worse than France’s league in my opinion. In the French league, I think you have two to three teams with a good level. In Saudi, I think it is more competitive.”
Cristiano Ronaldo gives his opinion on the standard of the Saudi Pro League stating that it is ‘better than the French league’ ⚽ pic.twitter.com/CUZSQgRzgy
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) January 20, 2024
The French League has been looking to transform itself into a known league recently. With several stars coming through the Ligue 1 academies, several people believe it was a wrong claim made by the Portuguese striker. On the other hand, several people had other thoughts as well.
Making such a claim, many people also pondered to believe it was a simple marketing strategy made by Cristiano Ronaldo. With several stars leaving Saudi after just 6 months of joining, many believe it is the reason why Ronaldo made such comments about Ligue 1 in France.
Paulo Fonseca made a controversial statement to defend against Cristiano Ronaldo
Paulo Fonseca is a Portuguese manager, who currently manages the Ligue 1 club, LOSC Lille. Being a countryman to Cristiano Ronaldo, several interviewers were intrigued by his thoughts on this claim. How does a current Ligue 1 manager react to this situation made up by Ronaldo?
When asked about this claim, LOSC Lille manager, Paulo Fonseca couldn’t hold his emotions and said, “If he feels happy in Saudi Arabia, I’m happy for him.” He continued his statement by saying, “There are some things that aren’t worth my time to respond to.”
🗣️ Lille head coach Paulo Fonseca on Cristiano Ronaldo’s claims that the Saudi Pro League was better than Ligue 1:
“Intelligent people will understand why he said that.” 💰 pic.twitter.com/KCQU8QRkl0
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) January 22, 2024
Adding the final heat to his statement he said, “Intelligent people will understand why he said that.” This statement alone left several people wondering if it was he taking a dig at Ronaldo or does he agreed with his countryman as well.
Whether he meant it to take a dig at Cristiano Ronaldo or not, people are still left furious by such claims made by the Portuguese great.
Ligue 1 firing back at Cristiano Ronaldo
While several fans were shocked to see Paulo Fonseca make such claims about Cristiano Ronaldo. There was a whole organization as well who took a dig at Ronaldo as well. That organization is none other than Ligue 1 themselves.
As soon as Ronaldo made such claims about the Saudi Pro League and France’s Ligue 1. The Ligue 1 admin couldn’t hold himself back. And posted something related to a recent event that was held between the two organizations on the X platform.
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) January 19, 2024
Back in January 2023, French champions, PSG faced Riyadh All-Star XI. Making a match-up to face against Saudi Pro League’s best XI, PSG held an interesting match-up wherein they went on to win by 5 goals to 4. And the image posted served as a counter-attack to the claims made by the Portuguese.
Ronaldo’s comments might have stirred the pot, but they also inadvertently highlighted the unique appeal of Ligue 1. It’s not about glitz and glamour, but about raw talent, and the romance of a league where passion trumps paychecks. It’s a reminder that sometimes, the most precious trophies aren’t made of gold, but of the memories forged in the crucible of competition.
