Cristiano Ronaldo is known to be somebody who doesn’t mince his words, and speaks his mind. The Al Nassr star was recently present at the 2024 Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai, and spoke about a variety of topics, ranging from how the Ballon d’Or was unfair to Manchester United’s current form. What caught everyone’s attention was his claim that the Saudi Pro League was better than Ligue 1 in terms of quality. The Saudi Pro League is Saudi Arabia’s top-tier football competition, where Ronaldo currently plays.

“The Saudi Pro League is better than Ligue 1, of course. I’m not saying that because I play here. I don’t care what people think about it. Players should come here and they will see quickly. Just try to do sprints at 38, 39, 40 degrees…,” he said.

“Come and you will see. If you don’t believe me, come. In France, they only have PSG, everyone else is finished. Nobody can beat them because they have the most money and the best players,” he added.

Ligue 1’s response to Cristiano Ronaldo

In response, Ligue 1’s official Spanish X account shared a photo of Lionel Messi winning the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, in similar conditions as Saudi Arabia.

Here is the post:

In the post, Ligue 1 indirectly pointed out that Messi was representing PSG when he won the World Cup final in Qatar. Meanwhile, the tournament also saw Ronaldo lose his spot in the Portugal playing XI.

The Ronaldo vs Messi rivalry is probably the biggest in football history, partly due to rise in social media and increased focus on statistics. The pair also spent nine seasons in the prime of their careers against each other regularly, while playing for Real Madrid and Barcelona.

They are also the only two players to score over 800 goals each in their careers for club and country. Ronaldo holds the record for most official goals in a career.