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"Ronaldo doesn't seem to accept that he is no longer the hero of the Ballon d'Or."
'Legend' was Emmanuelle Petty's factual attack. Cristiano Ronaldo has recently been at the center of controversy once again. This is because of the remarks that the Saudi professional league is better than the French Ligue 1. Ronaldo attended the Globe Soccer Awards (GSA) in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates on the 28th of last month (Korea time) and said, `The Saudi professional league is better than the French league. I'm not saying that because I played in Saudi Arabia. It doesn't matter what people think. You'll find out when you come in person. Try sprinting at 38, 39 and 40 degrees..."
Ronaldo said "If you can't believe it, come over. There is only Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in France. The other teams are all done. No one can beat PSG. It's because PSG spent the most money and had the best players."
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There are two main reasons for Ronaldo's remarks that the Saudi league is better. There are no competitive teams other than PSG, and the Saudi League is played in a worse environment. There doesn't seem to be much ground. The official SNS account of the Spanish version of Ligue 1 posted a picture of Ronaldo's rival Lionel Messi (Inter Miami) holding the trophy at the 2022 Qatar World Cup and countered by saying, "Messi who played in 38 degrees weather." Messi played for PSG from 2021 to 2023.
Ligue 1, where Lee Kang-in has been in the UEFA league rankings for the second season, ranks fifth after the English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga and German Bundesliga. It is included in the so-called `Five Major Leagues.'
Ligue 1 ranks fifth with 83.1 points in the `Global Football Rankings' (GFR), which ranks 75 leagues around the world in real time. The Saudi league is 31st with 72.6 points. It is lower than the K League (74.7 points, 20th) and even the French League 2 (72.7 points, 30th).
GFR not only scores 0-100 points for each league based on the importance of the game, league level, league and club market value, and global competitiveness. The higher the score, the higher the league level.
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This is not the first time Ronaldo has ignored Ligue 1. While commenting on his failure to lead his team Alnasr to a league championship in January "I honestly don't think the Saudis are inferior to France. France has a couple of good quality teams. Saudi Arabia is more competitive now. It's still developing." He also said that it could become one of the world's top three leagues in the future.
Footballers who heard this comment are actively refuting it. In particular, French soccer players are strongly opposed. "Ronaldo was criticized for saying that the Saudi league is better than Ligue 1," Petty said in a goal-com on the 8th. I have great respect for Ronaldo's career and his impact on football. But sometimes it's better to say nothing quietly rather than attract such unnecessary attention.' Then "I was not surprised by his remarks. Since 2018, when Ronaldo left Real Madrid, he has had more interviews than trophies. He has made little impact for the club and the national team. I don't think he accepts the fact that he is no longer the protagonist of the Ballon d'Or.'
Finally, Petty wrote "His remarks about Ligue 1 are unfounded. It has to do with Messi. We all know it.'
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.