Yeah, it must be really tough to score goals in a league ranked 29th in the world, rather than La Liga which is 3rd.
I'm sure it's everything to do with how hard the league is, and nothing at all to do with the fact that he's almost 41 years old.
Cristiano Ronaldo - 961/1000
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Yeah, it must be really tough to score goals in a league ranked 29th in the world, rather than La Liga which is 3rd.
I'm sure it's everything to do with how hard the league is, and nothing at all to do with the fact that he's almost 41 years old.
Let's disregard all his goals in La Liga then. What's he on now?
Surely you factor that into the statement? He’s not going to say it’s harder to score at his age than it was when he was younger, but I don’t necessarily think he’s telling a lie here.
He was in his prime in La Liga and his physical advantages as well as ability made a lot of opponents look like traffic cones, which must have felt like easy street to him, as opposed to now where he has to drag himself along and has very few innate advantages over others. That’s why I said he looks pained when you watch him these days; the game must be getting harder for him by the season.
He's probably paid extra to talk up the saudi league so he's just doing that.
This guy was my favourite player growing up. Seeing how narcissistic, self centered and delusional he is ruins those memories. These interviews and comments over the years really don't paint him well. What a baby
I see what you're saying, and it would be natural to think he's meaning it's harder due to the fact that he's now in his 40s.
But because he's so deluded and self absorbed I wouldn't be at all surprised if he was meaning that the Saudi League is genuinely more skilled and difficult to play in because of the skill and quality of the players.
What’s he doing? He’s so badly advised to be honest.
I know he needs the money but I wonder if his missus ever gives him grief about playing in Saudi.
Pretty sure he'd break up with her if she did.
Well he has to bide his time now and is almost utterly reliant on others to supply him, plus he has a finite amount of time before he’s spent, contrast that with the guy that could run 40 yards up the pitch and blast one in from 25 yards out in his sleep and do it another time or two in the same match, then repeat some portion of that in the next game over an entire campaign. Those halcyon days are years behind him and I think it’s him acknowledging that more than anything.
Just my take.
I hope you're right, and that is what is happening, rather than yet another Ronaldo ego trip.
True, his ego is the love of his life!
'It's easier to score goals when you're 28 than it is when you're 40'.
Kind of weird for the captain of one of the favorites of the World Cup to go out and say it's not his dream to win the World Cup.
He’s living in his own head. Quite odd statements made.
He scored 48 goals in a Liga campaign. He's allowed to say it IMO.
It's quite sad and pathetic to see him like this. Would probably have been for the best if he'd just retired 4 years ago, sad to see him tarnishing his reputation and finishing his career in this manner.
Would have loved to see him retire at United but accepting a role as a bit part player/super sub, acting as a mentor to the young players and getting a standing ovation at Old Trafford on his final game. Unfortunately his planet-sized ego would never allow that to happen.
Yeah that's how I see it, too. He's one of few who can say such a thing having ran amok through the league scoring an outrageous amount of goals. I've no doubt from his perspective it's harder to score now, in Saudi, than it was in Spain at the peak of his powers.
His ego just won't let him say it's due to age, however.
Plus it could have something to do with the fact that he played with miles better quality players at Madrid.
In what way is he tarnishing his reputation? He's just an old guy playing in a lower quality league. In what way does that detract from him being one of the greatest of all time?
He may talk a bit of shite at times but he's earned the right to be honest. His life at least on the face of it has been pretty perfect especially from a professional point of view. From humble beginnings to a conquering football, becoming a billionaire and probably the most popular man on earth. He's got a crazy ego but who wouldn't in his shoes.
When he's retired, he will obviously be more candid on the Saudi level but for now he's trying to write his story as the greatest footballer of all time and he has to prop up the Saudi league as that's where he is.
While I do think Messi is the goat, Ronaldo's motivation is winning the World Cup and reaching 1000 professional goals. If he does that it would be hard to deny that he has taken the title from Messi. Messi will always be a better player but those two achievements would put make Ronaldo the greatest in my view.
When he's retired, he will obviously be more candid on the Saudi level but for now he's trying to write his story as the greatest footballer of all time and he has to prop up the Saudi league as that's where he is.
While I do think Messi is the goat, Ronaldo's motivation is winning the World Cup and reaching 1000 professional goals. If he does that it would be hard to deny that he has taken the title from Messi. Messi will always be a better player but those two achievements would put make Ronaldo the greatest in my view.
If you offered him the Golden Boot at the World Cup but it meant Portugal would be knocked out in the group stages, he'd take it and run.
Cristiano Ronaldo actual response to Wayne Rooney's "Messi is better" comment:
No problem. Seriously, it’s okay. You can choose whatever you want. We have a good relationship. Maybe not friends, but the relationship was always good.
He added: "In football, I don’t have a friend who comes to my house for dinner. I have nothing against him. It’s his opinion, what he likes the most. It’s not a problem for me. I respect him. Especially when we played, we did a lot together at Manchester United.
"If I see Rooney I will shake his hand and give him a hug. I don’t have time to be against people anymore.
https://tribuna.com/en/news/2025-11...o-explains-why-he-didnt-attend-diogo-jota-fu/
No problem. Seriously, it’s okay. You can choose whatever you want. We have a good relationship. Maybe not friends, but the relationship was always good.
He added: "In football, I don’t have a friend who comes to my house for dinner. I have nothing against him. It’s his opinion, what he likes the most. It’s not a problem for me. I respect him. Especially when we played, we did a lot together at Manchester United.
"If I see Rooney I will shake his hand and give him a hug. I don’t have time to be against people anymore.
https://tribuna.com/en/news/2025-11...o-explains-why-he-didnt-attend-diogo-jota-fu/
It is always a question of taste. No different to the incredible things Djokovic has achieved even in the last 5 years and his records undoubtedly put him as GOAT of Tennis now.
However ask many neutrals and/or Tennis fans and many would still rank Federer and Nadal ahead of him regardless of titles due to intensity and style they brought to the games and their own matchups which gripped the World.
Will be plenty of examples in other sports.
What I took from what I've read of the interview is he's going to play the World Cup and then he will retire? Portugal would have a very good chance of winning it if he's used more sparingly than the Euros and that would be the obvious point to retire as even he himself thought 2022 was his final WC when they lost to Morocco and he was in tears at the end.
Thinks he is better looking than David Beckham.
Never.
Never.
Awww yawn mate! There’s no way you’re daft enough to have missed the point I was making about his goals been teed up nicely by his teammates, you’re just being obtuse because you don’t like the reality. Banging on about goal numbers with Zidane ffs! Obviously your loyalties lie with Ronaldo and that’s what you really care about so I’ll just let you repeat the same rhetoric again and again ad nauseum. It’s really not worth the time.
Haven’t watched it but been told he said the World Cup isn’t a dream for him, which is hilarious in itself because you can find an interview he did a few years back where he literally says his dream is to win the World Cup!
Sorry fobal mate, but you are completely wrong here. Ronaldo never claimed in that interview that he was "better" than Messi. It was completely fake and edited. He actually said that he was fine with Rooney's statement and that he respects his opinion.
He did that say Argentina won a couple of World Cups before Messi but added Brazil as well and said that if Portugal wins the World Cup it's going to "shock" the world. I mean what is exactly wrong wirh that statement? All of that is truthful.
You can criticize him for a lot of things there but he never said a bad thing about Leo there. That whole trailer blew up but it was based on a fake edited clip. You shouldn't jump on a bandwagon before actually checking things.
This and I fully agree here.
La Liga is definitely stronger and better than the Saudi league—everyone knows that. I’m not sure if Ronaldo was lying, being sarcastic, or speaking genuinely, but if he meant it sincerely, it actually makes sense and seems quite valid.
Ronaldo during his Madrid years, around 2009–2015( I could say before14), and after 2022 (or even 2013 or 2018)are completely different players. Back then, he was a physical monster—jumping higher, faster, more agile, and his shots were insanely powerful. His reaction time was honestly better than it is today. So, from his perspective, saying scoring in La Liga was easier isn’t strange at all. Before his serious knee injury in 2013, he could take free kicks faster and better, more explosively, and more efficiently, which made beating defenders much easier without relying solely on being inside the box.
Then consider the players he played with—Ozil, Di Maria, Modric, Xabi Alonso (long passes), Kroos, full-backs like Marcelo, and elite support striker like Benzema. We don't even need to go into detail or any kind of introduction; everyone knows how technically gifted these players are. Being surrounded by such world-class creators obviously made Ronaldo’s life in his peak a lot easier.
Coaches too—Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Zidane—they’re different in style and management, but one thing they had in common: they brought out the best in Ronaldo. Their tactics suited him perfectly, especially as counter-attacking managers, which fit him like a glove before his knee injury. He was arguably the best transition player in the world at that time. You can’t really say the same for Pioli, Garcia, or Castro in Saudi, even though he’s still scoring a ton of goals there.
And like you said, he’s no longer at his peak physical power—long-range shooting declined, dribbling’s been down for a while, reaction time and speed naturally decrease with age. So now he has to work harder to create space and score, even though he’s still a master. I don’t know exactly what he was thinking, only he knows that, but I can see his point and it’s understandable. Even, La Liga as a whole, including its defenders, is clearly much stronger
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C'mon Ronaldo is bigging up the Saudi pro because he wants his goals to add to his legacy. He still maintains its better than ligue 1. He says the reason its harder to score goals is the heat and becshe says the 26th placed league in the world is harder than its given credit for. In other words he's bigging up the Saudi Pro so enough people will still think he's the best to be prolific there. He didn't mention his age as the factor.
“Even in a bad year [when Al-Nassr finished trophyless], I scored 25 goals. If I played the Premier League now, in a top team, I will score the same! If I had a good team, at 40 years old, I will score the same.”
“They say things about the Saudi league, but they have never been here, they never play here. They don’t know what [it is like] to run in 40 degrees [celsius].”
“And I still continue and I repeat the Saudi League, it’s much, much better than Portuguese League, of course. French league is only PSG. Premier League is good, of course, it is the number one.”
“For me, it’s more easy to score in Spain, than to score in Saudi.”
“Ask the other players if the league is good, don’t ask to me because it’s easy to ask me because I’m always saying that ‘Ah, Cristiano saying that because he plays in Saudi’… No, no. I’ve played everywhere. Everywhere.”
“Even in a bad year [when Al-Nassr finished trophyless], I scored 25 goals. If I played the Premier League now, in a top team, I will score the same! If I had a good team, at 40 years old, I will score the same.”
“They say things about the Saudi league, but they have never been here, they never play here. They don’t know what [it is like] to run in 40 degrees [celsius].”
“And I still continue and I repeat the Saudi League, it’s much, much better than Portuguese League, of course. French league is only PSG. Premier League is good, of course, it is the number one.”
“For me, it’s more easy to score in Spain, than to score in Saudi.”
“Ask the other players if the league is good, don’t ask to me because it’s easy to ask me because I’m always saying that ‘Ah, Cristiano saying that because he plays in Saudi’… No, no. I’ve played everywhere. Everywhere.”
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I don't generally agree with you, but I can agree with pretty much everything you've said in this post.
Getting the thousand goals is clearly on the cards, though it will take him a while. They won't win the WC IMO, but it's not out of the question.
But what if Messi reaches a thousand goals? That is also not out of the question. What then?
Club football is much much more televised than back in the day. The best players often played in their own countries so people were not even aware how good or average they were . If James Rodrigues did a world cup 2014 in 1970 he would be called a great despite not having done anything of note at club level.
I think you are confusing prestigious with important. The world cup in particular is the most prestigious tournament in the world but if i was to judge a player, it has to be firstly at club level because that is where consistency can be seen. Without success at club level, success at international tournaments doesn't mean much.
Ronaldo is one of the greatest Messi is a much better gootballer and for me that is where the comparison ends. There is a significan chasm in dribbling and playmaking.
He's become an embarrassing twat in his old age.
Well I guess he always was but he got away with it by being good at football.
Piers Morgan has always been an embarrassing twat
Well he ain't lying. If Antony and Rashford can play in Spain without problems after they were stinking it up in the Premier League...
Have not watched the interview, but I saw a hilarious post on social media that listed the (comedic) basics of each of his deluded opinions. I repeat them here with my reactions:
"I am more handsome than David Beckham"
Matter of opinion
"I am more famous than Trump"
Uh, probably not. You've taken a lot of notes from his playbook, though....
"I have more hair than LeBron James"
Can't argue with him there
"For him, scoring in Spain is easier than scoring in Saudi"
Yes, we were all more athletic 15 years ago.
"Saudi is better than Ligue Un and the Portuguese League"
It isn't
Saudi League goals should count for the European Golden Boot
Uh, no
"World Cup is not a dream"
You wrote a lengthy epistle after being knocked out of the last one, stating that winning the WC was your biggest dream. I wonder what could have changed between then and now.....?
"I cried when Jota died, you can ask Georgina if you don't believe"
The narcissism and solipsism in this statement beggars belief. Hopefully, in context, it wasn't quite this bad.....
"Argentina had 2 World Cups before Messi"
The interesting thing about this one is that he is using the same arguments that his fans use on Twitter to try and explain why Messi winning at international level is not as impressive as him winning lesser trophies at international level. Which shows that (a) he reads the stuff online and (b) he is quite willing to denigrate Portugal and Portuguese football history to make himself look better.
The logic of the 'never did anything before I showed up' argument is questionable anyway. All it means is that you showed up at a time that the nation had a good enough team/infrastructure. Brazil had never won the World Cup before Pele showed up, does he get extra credit for this? I guess Pele is definitely the GOAT, then.
How about at club level - does the fact that Ronaldo played for (historically) the most successful clubs in England, Italy and Spain diminish his achievements? After all, Real Madrid had won 9 European Cups before he came along. Contrast with Maradona at Napoli - no league titles, no European trophies. He provided both. Therefore, Maradona's time at Napoli > Ronaldo's time at Real Madrid. QED
The whole thing makes no sense.
"I am more handsome than David Beckham"
Matter of opinion
"I am more famous than Trump"
Uh, probably not. You've taken a lot of notes from his playbook, though....
"I have more hair than LeBron James"
Can't argue with him there
"For him, scoring in Spain is easier than scoring in Saudi"
Yes, we were all more athletic 15 years ago.
"Saudi is better than Ligue Un and the Portuguese League"
It isn't
Saudi League goals should count for the European Golden Boot
Uh, no
"World Cup is not a dream"
You wrote a lengthy epistle after being knocked out of the last one, stating that winning the WC was your biggest dream. I wonder what could have changed between then and now.....?
"I cried when Jota died, you can ask Georgina if you don't believe"
The narcissism and solipsism in this statement beggars belief. Hopefully, in context, it wasn't quite this bad.....
"Argentina had 2 World Cups before Messi"
The interesting thing about this one is that he is using the same arguments that his fans use on Twitter to try and explain why Messi winning at international level is not as impressive as him winning lesser trophies at international level. Which shows that (a) he reads the stuff online and (b) he is quite willing to denigrate Portugal and Portuguese football history to make himself look better.
The logic of the 'never did anything before I showed up' argument is questionable anyway. All it means is that you showed up at a time that the nation had a good enough team/infrastructure. Brazil had never won the World Cup before Pele showed up, does he get extra credit for this? I guess Pele is definitely the GOAT, then.
How about at club level - does the fact that Ronaldo played for (historically) the most successful clubs in England, Italy and Spain diminish his achievements? After all, Real Madrid had won 9 European Cups before he came along. Contrast with Maradona at Napoli - no league titles, no European trophies. He provided both. Therefore, Maradona's time at Napoli > Ronaldo's time at Real Madrid. QED
The whole thing makes no sense.
I've watched it in Piers Morgan channel, no edit. And leaving aside lots of stuff that cringes as fvck, I was mainly talking about the unnecessary reference to Argentina, therefore Messi, even when later he named Brazil, he does not foul anyone why he made that initial comment.
And it's one of the many times he just can't leave the other fella aside, no matter if Piers or whomever poke him, he just can't. Even you man at times just can't, yet at least at times you have a valid excuse when some ubber Messi fan makes some over the top statement (BTW you have quite a tendency to make similar ones too).
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Rashford has 2 goals in 11 games.