Eden Hazard Disagrees With Cristiano Ronaldo’s Saudi-Ligue 1 Comparison, Praises Ronaldo’s Longevity
Former Lille, Chelsea, and Real Madrid player, Eden Hazard, has come out in defence of Ligue 1. The Belgian winger, who won a league title with Lille, was responding to Cristiano Ronaldo’s comments in January, where he opined that the Saudi Pro League was raising its levels and could be at the same level with France’s Ligue 1.
Ronaldo had said, “To be honest, I think the Saudi league is not worse than the French league, in my opinion.” In an interview with former Chelsea teammate Obi Mikel, Hazard responded by saying, “I’m not agreeing with him, but that’s just an opinion,” Hazard said in response. “If you look at the league in Saudi Arabia, they have big players, it’s just that they’re not big teams. In France, maybe now they have fewer big players, but they have big teams.”
Hazard went on to say, “I’m sure if a Ligue 1 team played against a Saudi Arabian team, they would win. Maybe not easily, like people might think, but the level in France is good. I’m watching their league, and they have talent.” Hazard noted Ronaldo’s impressive feat of still playing at 39 and does not expect him to retire soon.
However, with the Saudi Pro League in Asia and Ligue 1 in Europe, players can only meet in preseason friendlies so it will be challenging to put Hazard’s claims to a test. However, the conversations around the Saudi Pro League point to an increasing relevancy that cannot be easily ignored.
