Canada’s head coach Jesse Marsch sat down with The Guardian’s Joe Callaghan ahead of Tuesday’s match against the United States and said what some people outside America have been thinking. On the Folarin Balogun ruling, the World Cup, and why the rest of the world views American football with a particular kind of disdain, Marsch didn’t hedge. He went straight at it, and the through-line between his comments and Ronaldo’s recent Portugal camp departure is the same uncomfortable question: when does exceptionalism become entitlement?

What Did Jesse Marsch Say About America and the Balogun Ruling?

In his interview with The Guardian, Marsch addressed the Balogun controversy and the broader culture of American exceptionalism in football head-on.

Among his comments: Americans feel they deserve to be treated differently simply because they’re American. When the Balogun ruling happened, his reaction was that it would never happen in any other country in the world, and that this is exactly why everyone around the world hates America. He went further: Americans are brought up to believe they’re number one, that they’re always right, the best, the greatest. And that’s why everyone hates them.

The Full Quote

“This is why everyone around the world hates America,” Marsch said on Sunday. “That was proven to be so. The U.S. had had a good World Cup, was doing well. All that switched in one moment. But do I think that that’s about corruption and unfairness? The problem is, football is inundated with this kind of stuff.

“We, as Americans, have been inundated with propaganda since we were young,” continued Marsch, the Racine, Wisc., native. “We’re the No. 1 country in the world, we deserve everything, we dominate everything, No. 1 in every aspect of life. This is what we’ve been told. So, when things happen and we don’t feel like we’re in control of it … we feel like we deserve to be treated differently because we’re Americans. That is one of the things that infuriates the rest of the world about Americans. And Americans don’t know that if they don’t ever leave the country.”

Could Any Other Country Have Pulled Off the Balogun Ruling?

This is where it gets interesting. The argument isn’t just that the ruling was controversial, it’s that only the United States, hosting the World Cup with a leader who is close to the FIFA president, could have made it happen.

Argentina gets brought up as the closest comparison, a footballing nation that can absolutely get under people’s skin. But even Argentina, if they were hosting, probably couldn’t pull off what the Americans did. No other country has both the institutional leverage and the cultural audacity to push that button.

That’s not a compliment. It’s a diagnosis. And Marsch, as a proud American who has coached in Italy, Mexico, and now Canada, seems perfectly comfortable making it. The man has options wherever he goes, and the bridge back to coaching in the United States was one he burned a while ago.

How Will American Fans React to Marsch’s Comments?

It won’t go down well. American fans get loud — that’s not a stereotype, it’s a feature — and having the opposing coach publicly say “this is why everyone hates us” before a rivalry match is the kind of thing that fuels a stadium.

But Marsch isn’t saying anything new. He’s saying what non-Americans have said for decades and what plenty of Americans have thought privately. He’s just saying it with a microphone and his name attached, which in the current climate takes a particular kind of indifference to consequences.

Should Ronaldo Get Special Treatment Because He’s Ronaldo?

No.

That’s the short answer, and it’s the right one. Ronaldo is one of the best players to ever play the game. That’s not in dispute. But he’s getting older, and there comes a time when you step aside and let others flourish.

Portugal manager Jorge Jesus made the call: he decides who plays, when, and why. It doesn’t matter what your name is. That’s what managers are hired to do, make the big decisions. If Jesus plays Ronaldo and results don’t come, it’s the manager who’s out the door. He has to protect his own position by picking the team he believes in.

What you want to see from a player of Ronaldo’s quality in that situation is true leadership. Be there for the players around you. Support your teammates. Play the small role the manager asks you to play. That’s what greatness looks like at the end of a career.

Instead, Ronaldo left camp. And when you’ve got Piers Morgan fanning the flames in your corner, it doesn’t help. It never helps.

Is the Door Still Open for Ronaldo and Portugal?

Jesus said publicly that Ronaldo is still welcome back. He wants to talk to him. The door isn’t closed.

Whether Ronaldo walks through it is another question. The Ronaldo loyalists, and they are legion, have their own take on this, but even some of them have sided with the national team over the player. That’s telling.

This is ultimately the same question the Marsch interview raises, just at an individual level instead of a national one. When you’ve been told your whole career that you’re the greatest, that you’re always right, that the rules bend for you, what happens when someone finally says no?

Sometimes the answer is grace. Sometimes it’s a camp walkout and a Piers Morgan interview. Football tends to remember which one you chose.