Ligue 1 hit back at Cristiano Ronaldo with Lionel Messi claim after Al-Nassr captain labels all French clubs except PSG as 'finished'
Ligue 1 have reacted to Cristiano Ronaldo's comments on the league by posting Lionel Messi's picture with the 2022 FIFA World Cup trophy. During the 2024 Globe Soccer Awards on Saturday (December 28), Ronaldo opined that the Saudi Pro League was better than Ligue 1.
He added that all the clubs in the French top flight, except Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), were not good enough. Ronaldo backed his response by saying that playing in the Saudi Pro League was difficult because of the wind and weather conditions. He said (via GOAL):
"Saudi League is better than Ligue 1. France only has PSG. The rest is finished. Try to run at 38, 39, 40 degree weather and see... It is difficult to become champion in Saudi."
He added:
"This year Al-Hilal are better, Al-Ittihad are top of the league, but I believe that we have push hard to be champions. I have been champion everywhere I have (played) and I believe I will be champion (in Saudi Arabia)."
Hitting back at Cristiano Ronaldo's criticism, the official Spanish language X (formerly Twitter) account of Ligue 1 uploaded a picture of Lionel Messi with the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which was played in Qatar. Both Saudi Arabia and Qatar are in the Middle East and they also share borders. Ligue 1 Espanol captioned the post:
"Lionel Messi playing in 38 degrees."
Messi, famously, played in Ligue 1 between 2021 and 2023 for PSG, scoring 32 goals and giving 35 assists in 75 games across competitions. He won the Ligue 1 title twice and the Trophees des Champions once.
Argentina defeated France 4-2 on penalties to win the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, with Messi scoring twice in the final and winning his second FIFA Golden Ball. Meanwhile, Portugal lost 1-0 to Morocco in the quarterfinals.
When Chelsea legend ranked himself higher than Cristiano Ronaldo but not Lionel Messi
Former Chelsea attacker Eden Hazard once claimed that he was better than Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo but not Lionel Messi. During an interview with L'Equipe in February 2024, the Chelsea legend was asked to give his opinion on the football GOAT (Greatest of all time) debate. He said:
"Individually, Messi is perhaps the only one. I loved watching the Barcelona player, less so at the end. But he's the greatest in the history. It's impossible to take the ball away from him. Cristiano is a bigger player than me but, in terms of pure football, I honestly don't think so."
Eden Hazard billed Lionel Messi as the greatest of all time and said he enjoyed watching the Argentine playmaker during his time in Barcelona. Moreover, he also ranked himself above former Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) attacker Neymar Jr. He added:
"Neymar, maybe. After that, he's no better than me, but at Real, you're the best, also in terms of their careers: (Karim) Benzema, (Luka) Modric, they were the best, (Toni) Kroos, Kevin (De Bruyne), they all exude football."
Eden Hazard joined Real Madrid in July 2019 from the Stamford Bridge outfit for a reported €121 million. Nevertheless, his time at Santiago Bernabeu was marred with injuries and setbacks as he only made 76 appearances for the side across four years. Hazard retired from football in October 2023, putting a full stop to his 16-year-long professional career.