The captain of the Portuguese team, Cristiano Ronaldo, affirmed today that there is “too much controversy” in the First Football League and regretted that the competition is being treated a bit like a “circus”.
“I would like the Portuguese League to be a league above. That’s why I think Portugal will never -never be-, but in the near future it won’t be a league. above like a Premier League, a Spanish league -with its problems too, obviously- or a German league. I thought that Portugal could enter there in the top 4 or 5, but I don’t think so. For example, right now the Arab league is better than the Portuguese. It is not so noisy and the quality of the players is higher. Here the (Portuguese) league is being treated a bit like a circus,” Cristiano Ronaldo said.
The Al Nassr striker spoke to journalists at a press conference at the Cidade do Futebol, in Oeiras, minutes before another training session for Portugal, which is preparing for Friday’s duel with Slovakia, qualifying for Euro 2024.
“There are controversies in all the championships, but in Portugal lately there have been many. This is bad, very bad. Intelligent people, minimally intelligent, know it, but each one takes the heat out of his sardine, as they say, “the is stressed.
Cristiano Ronaldo also pointed out that “out of curiosity” he opened a sports newspaper on Wednesday, something that he says he “generally” does not do and acknowledged that “the first three news items are controversial outside of football. That makes us think and say that after all The most important thing is the bad news”.
Regarding the departure this season of several renowned players to Saudi Arabia, Ronaldo was proud of having been the “pioneer” and recalled that, at first, everyone considered him “crazy” for having made the decision to sign for him. Al Nassr.
“Everyone thought I was crazy. Well, crazy is not so crazy anymore. Now, it’s normal to play in the Arab league. I knew this was going to happen and I’m happy to help change an Arab culture. The league will continue to evolve in the next few years until it becomes a top-tier league,” the 38-year-old confessed.
Although they play on different continents, Ronaldo addressed his rivalry with Argentine Lionel Messi (now in the United States) over the past two decades and considered that both changed the “history of soccer” during that period.
“We changed history and we keep changing. We are respected all over the world. We each make our own way. He is fine in America, I am fine in Saudi Arabia. I can’t say we are friends, I’ve never I had dinner with him. But we respect each other,” he said.
This season, Ronaldo has 12 goals in 11 games for Al Nassr and has already scored five in four games for Portugal in qualifying for the next Euro Cup, which will be played in 2024 in Germany.
Source: TSF
