Jorge Sampaoli believes Ligue 1 ‘more exciting’ than La Liga | OneFootball

Speaking to L’Équipe, former Olympique de Marseille manager Jorge Sampaoli has said that he believes that Ligue 1 is “more exciting” than La Liga.

The level of France’s top flight has been a topic of discussion since Cristiano Ronaldo’s criticism. “The Saudi League is not worse than Ligue 1 – it is actually more competitive than Ligue 1, I can say that after spending one year there. We are better than the French league now,” said the Al-Nassr forward during the Globe Soccer Awards last week. Those comments raised a debate about the level of Ligue 1, whilst also drawing criticism from current Ligue 1 managers.

“There is no need to make a comparison. I don’t think what he said is good. There are things that aren’t worthy of my time to respond to. This statement is one of those things. I think that intelligent people will understand why he made this statement,” responded Lille OSC’s Paulo Fonseca.

Ronaldo was particularly criticised due to having never competed in Ligue 1, thus making any criticism largely baseless. Argentine manager Sampaoli has now given a more glowing review of the French league, dubbed ‘the league of talents’.

Former Marseille manager Sampaoli, who has managed in Spain with Sevilla across two separate spells (2016/17 and 2022/23), has described Ligue 1 as an “exciting” league. “In France, every team goes forward with incredible pace; you can lose a match in one phase of play. It was a challenge in my career in this vertical league with speed everywhere. It’s a really good league. [La Liga and Ligue 1] are very different leagues, but today, I think Ligue 1 is more exciting,” Sampaoli told L’Équipe.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle