For several days, a publication claiming to report a conversation between football player Cristiano Ronaldo and a journalist has been shared tens of thousands of times on Facebook.
To the question, “many Internet users and your fans wonder why your name is not on the list of the European Ballon d’Or? », the player of the Saudi club Al-Nassr would have replied: “They make me feel sorry. Have you seen where an inhabitant of heaven claims a place in hell? Europe is hell. You work hard to give them everything through excessive taxes and fictitious taxes. What I experience here in Saudi Arabia is a reference for Europe and the rest of the world.”
There list of nominees for the 2023 Ballon d’Or was unveiled on Wednesday September 6. And, indeed, CR7 was absent, for the first time in twenty years.
FAKE OFF
The football star has never made such comments to a journalist’s microphone. No trace of this exchange or such comments can be found with a verified source.
The latest interview with Cristiano Ronaldo was carried out for the saudi football leagueand dates from June 1, 2023. That is to say well before the announcement of the Ballon d’Or nominees.
It is true that Cristiano Ronaldo made comments comparing the Arab championship and the Portuguese championship. During a press conference on September 6 before a match with the Portuguese team, he claimed that he “sincerely” believed that “the Arab league is better than the Portuguese”.
The conflictual relationship between Cristiano Ronaldo and the tax authorities is not completely devoid of truth, since the player was sentenced by the Spanish courts to a fine of 18.8 million euros and 23 months in prison (commuted to a fine of 365 000 euros), for tax fraud in 2019.
Asked about the source of the quote, the author of the Facebook post did not respond to our questions.