“Winning the Golden Boot is better than Ballon d’Or” were the words fervently voiced by Cristiano Ronaldo after he won the Golden Boot in 2015, and Lionel Messi was awarded the Golden Ball. While these claims weren’t enough to create a lot of controversy back then, years later, the Portuguese superstar stirred the pot again after firing shots at the two prestigious awards, The Best FIFA awards and the Ballon d’Or, coincidentally when Messi again lifted both awards.

Ronaldo’s remarks came just hours after he lifted the Globe Soccer Maradona Award for the best goalscorer thanks to a goal tally of 54. But it’s the Al Nassr star’s claims surrounding the Ballon d’Or and FIFA The Best that are garnering eyeballs. In an interview with Record, he said, “The Ballon d’Or award and the Best award are losing credibility.”

“I did not watch the best ceremony awards. It is not to say Messi did not deserve it. Or Haaland, or even Mbappe. I simply no longer believe in these awards. But the numbers are there and the numbers don’t deceive. You’ve to consider the entire season. The numbers are facts,” the Al Nassr forward said.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored 54 goals in 59 appearances in 2023 – the most of any player in the world. However, he wasn’t nominated for either the FIFA BEST or Ballon d’Or awards. Notably, these awards were clinched by his long-term rival Lionel Messi. However, Ronaldo won three awards at the Globe Soccer Awards.

Apart from bagging the Maradona award, he won the Best Middle East Player and the Fans Favourite Player awards. He did lose out on the Best Player award to Manchester City’s sensation Erling Haaland. Messi was also nominated for the Best Men’s Player award, but the Argentinian didn’t win any awards on the night.

Another eyebrow-raising point that Ronaldo highlighted was the difficulty of scoring in the Roshn Saudi League. He said, “the 54 goals I scored [in 2023], there may be those who say it’s easier because I’m in Saudi Arabia. But football professionals know that it is difficult to score goals, whether in Saudi Arabia or in Italy, Spain or Portugal. A goal is a goal. In a way, I feel even more proud to have beaten Haaland, Mbappe, and Kane.”

This isn’t the first time Ronaldo has taken an indirect dig at Messi. He has been vocal about the competitiveness of the Saudi Pro League and claimed it was better than Major League Soccer (MLS) in the USA. This was shortly after Lionel Messi moved to MLS club Inter Miami. These claims bring us to what CR7 had to say about Kylian Mbappe’s Ligue 1 at the award ceremony.

First the MLS, now the French League becomes the target of Cristiano Ronaldo

During the Globe Soccer gala, Cristiano Ronaldo voiced his opinion over the level of Ligue 1 compared to the Saudi Pro League. He said, “To be honest, I think the Saudi league isn’t worse than French league, in my opinion. In French league, I think you have 2-3 teams with a good level. In Saudi, no, I think it’s more competitive.” The 38-year-old also added he is saying this because he has played in Saudi league for one year and added, “I think right now we are better than France league.” Of course, these claims didn’t go down well with Ligue 1, who responded in their own way. 

Cristiano Ronaldo Injury Update: Al Nassr Star Can Miss 3 Games’ Putting ‘Last Dance’ With Lionel Messi & Inter Miami in Danger

Ligue 1’s Espanol X handle tweeted Messi’s photo in his PSG jersey with his opinion on the league. The quote read, “It’s a much more physical championship than the league. The teams seem more physical and the matches are tough, they leave you very little space. The players are very strong.” Ronaldo’s comments are likely to garner some attention as he opened a new debate regarding football’s prestigious awards.

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