Ligue 1 make social media post after Cristiano Ronaldo claimed Saudi Pro League was better than the French top flight

Ligue 1's official X (formerly Twitter) account has seemingly hit back at Cristiano Ronaldo after his comments stating that the Saudi Pro League (SPL) is better than France's top tier league.

Ronaldo was recently awarded the Best Goalscorer, Fans' Favourite Player of the Year, and Best Middle East Player award at the 2023 Globe Soccer Awards. After he collected the accolades on the stage in Dubai on Friday (19 January), he was asked to comment on the level of SPL.

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid superstar said on stage (h/t ESPN):

"To be honest I think the Saudi League is not worse than French league, in my opinion. In [the] French league I think you have two, three teams with a good level. In Saudi now I think it's more competitive.

"They can say whatever they want, it's just my opinion and I played there one year so I know what I'm talking about. But I think right now we are better than [the] French league, we still improve."

Shortly after Ronaldo's comments, Ligue 1's official X account posted a photo of PSG superstar Kylian Mbappe holding Ronaldo's face. The photo seems to be from a friendly PSG and Al-Nassr played in January 2023, where the French giants won 5-4.

Lionel Messi, Ronaldo's long-time on-field rival, played two seasons in France for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) before leaving for Inter Miami in 2023. 'CR7', meanwhile, has played in Portugal, England, Italy, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in his career.

Apart from two seasons, PSG have won every league title in France since the 2011-12 campaign. AS Monaco (2016-17) and LOSC Lille Metropole (2020-21) are the other two winners during that time.

Saudi teams, meanwhile, have made big investments in the past 12 months, with teams such as Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr, Al-Ittihad, Al-Ahli, and Al-Ettifaq signing an array of European superstars.

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Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr are on the hunt for the SPL title

Saudi Pro League currently has two teams in the clear for the league title. After 19 gameweeks, the unbeaten Al-Hilal are top of the table with 53 points to their name.

Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr, who signed stars such as Aymeric Laporte, Sadio Mane, and Alex Telles in the summer, are second with 46 points. Al-Ahli, who have the likes of Edouard Mendy, Roberto Firmino, and Riyad Mahrez, sit third with 40 points.

Al-Hilal, the league leaders, signed Neymar Jr. in a blockbuster transfer from PSG last summer. Apart from the Brazilian superstar, they have Aleksandar Mitrovic, Yassine Bounou, Malcom, and Kalidou Koulibaly in their ranks.

Al-Ittihad, who signed Karim Benzema, Fabinho, and N'Golo Kante, among others, last summer, sit seventh with just 28 points from 18 matches.