At the university campus, Erdogan stated in the youth rally where he was asked a question about his thoughts on the world cup, Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Ronaldo.
He answered, “They have wasted Ronaldo. Unfortunately, they have imposed a political ban on him. Sending a footballer like Ronaldo onto the pitch with just 30 minutes remaining in the match ruined his psychology and took away his energy.”
Turkish Recep Tayyip, known as an ex-semi-pro footballer. is prominent for his love of the game.
Erdogan added, “Ronaldo is someone who stands for the Palestinian cause.” Though, it was not clear if he was connecting the supposed “political ban” supporting the Palestine footballers.
As Morocco smashed Portugal in the quarter-finals, Ronaldo, 37, faced a difficult time in Qatar.
Fernando Santos, the manager dismissed Ronaldo in his old 2 matches at the world cup. And Ronaldo was brought back again as a replacement.
In 36 years, constituting Ronaldo’s sorrow, of world cup success Messi went on to lead.
The Portuguese forward secured another milestone by becoming the joint most-capped player for men’s International football, when he stepped up on the pitch against Morocco. But the five-time Ballon D’Or winner left the pitch in tears as Portugal failed to bypass Morocco’s defense, losing the game with a score line of one goal to nil.
Ronaldo also criticized his club last month and had his contract terminated from Manchester United.
There has been growing speculation about the Portuguese forward in recent weeks about his move to Al Nassr, a prominent club in Saudi Arabia.
The club has reportedly booked CR7 for a physical deal that is worth around $210 million. Al Nassr is confident to have finalized the deal with the world’s most-followed sportsmen in time for the opening of the January transfer window.
But the Portuguese superstar has recently turned down many offers he received last year. All the offers were multi-million dollar opportunities that could double his net worth across the globe.
However, groups such as Amnesty International have long campaigned against what it says is the kingdom’s use of sports washing to distract from its human rights violations.