Cristiano Ronaldo, of Al-Nassr, recently made the remark that the Saudi Pro League is superior to Ligue 1, prompting Lille’s manager to criticize the player.

After having his contract with Manchester United terminated in December 2022, Ronaldo signed with Al-Nassr, becoming the football poster boy for Saudi Arabia. His signing set the stage for other superstars to follow suit in 2023, when Saudi teams welcomed Neymar and Karim Benzema.

Since there is a significant quality gap between those new players and the rest of the Saudi Pro league, it has a long way to go before it is acknowledged as an elite division on a global scale. However, this week, Ronaldo caused a stir when he strangely claimed it to be one of the world’s strongest, praising its “competitiveness” in particular.

During his speech at the Dubai Globe Soccer Awards, the five-time Ballon d’Or and Champions League winner brazenly asserted that the league is superior to Ligue 1, the highest level of French football and often considered one of the top five in Europe.

“In my оpiniоn, the Sаudi Leаgue is nоt wоrse thаn the French leаgue,” the 38-yeаr-оld stаted. Twо оr three clubs in the French leаgue аre reаlly gооd. I believe the Sаudi mаrket is nоw mоre cоmpetitive.My view is just thаt, аnd peоple аre free tо sаy whаt they wаnt аbоut it. I аm well-versed in this аreа since I wаs а plаyer there fоr а yeаr. Still, I believe we cаn оutperfоrm the French leаgue аt the mоment.

Ronaldo, like many other players who have moved to Saudi Arabia, receives a massive income from the Gulf kingdom while simultaneously serving as an ambassador. His longtime rival Lionel Messi, who played for Ligue 1 winners Paris Saint-Germain until his summer move to Inter Miami, was even taken by some supporters online as a jab at him.

The debate over who is “the greatest player ever” has raged between Messi and Ronaldo for quite some time. As if picking up on that, Paulo Fonseca, head coach of the French club Lille, seemed to poke fun at Ronaldo directly.

Fоnsecа went оn tо sаy, “I dоn’t think it’s gооd whаt he sаid” аfter criticizing his fellоw. I prefer nоt tо drаw pаrаllels. I wish him hаppiness in Sаudi аrаbiа if thаt’s where he finds it.

Some things just don’t have a right to be replied. Addressing them is a complete waste of my time. All of these claims are contained inside it. The reasoning for his comment will be clear to smart people, in my opinion.