Barcelona great lavishes praise on Ronaldo and draws comparison with Lionel Messi

Former Barcelona midfielder Oscar Garcia has heaped praise on Ronaldo in an interview with Spanish newspaper Marca. Garcia is now the manager of Barcelona's La Liga rivals Celta Vigo and played for Barcelona for a few years in the 1990s.

Oscar Garcia was one of the first to witness the legendary Brazilian's emergence as a prolific goalscorer at Barcelona and remains in awe of the striker's outrageous talent.

⚽️⚽️ Los dos goles de la carrera de Ronaldo que elige Roberto Carlos: "Estos dos goles marcaron mucho la vida de Ronnie. Era el mejor delantero del mundo" https://t.co/UEJA4lcgxu

— MARCA (@marca) June 2, 2020

"I was lucky to be very close to him for some of his goals, I saw how fast he was moving, it was even difficult to catch him to celebrate goals, he was still at the same speed."

Ronaldo joined Barcelona from PSV Eindhoven and was an instant success at the Catalan club. The Brazilian was unplayable in Spain and was easily Barcelona's best player.

"From his very first training sessions we saw that he was a different player and that he was going to help us a lot."

Barcelona midfielder calls Ronaldo and Messi special talents

Ronaldo was one of the best players of his generation

Ronaldo's debut season at Barcelona saw him blow away all opposition in La Liga. The Brazilian scored 47 goals in 49 games in all competitions for Barcelona and was famous for his ability to singlehandedly dismantle defences.

"You just knew he was going to be a world star, and he was, but what caught my attention most was his humility, he treated everyone the same and was always smiling and joking, he gained confidence very quickly."

Ronaldo went on to win the FIFA World Player of the Year award in his debut season and was the youngest player to win the coveted individual honour at the time. Among the striker's several goals for Barcelona is a strike that followed an absolutely otherworldly dribble that left the opposition's defence stunned.

🔴🔵 Imagine how many goals 'the' Ronaldo would have scored at Barcelona had he not left after bagging 47 goals in 49 games, including this! 😲 "I wanted to stay but the club didn’t value me as I felt they should so it was ultimately out of my hands.”pic.twitter.com/UHn6mVYYVO

— Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) February 21, 2020

Barcelona shockingly failed to renegotiate Ronaldo's contract the following season. The Brazilian magician departed for Inter Milan in 1997 but his impact on Barcelona's squad was permanent.

Oscar Garcia claimed that he continues to place Ronaldo on a pedestal and names Barcelona's Lionel Messi as the only other player who is able to match the Brazilian dribble for dribble.

"Until the arrival of Messi, I hadn't seen a player who drove with the ball at that speed. I have only seen him and Messi do that."

Ronaldo went on to play for Real Madrid later in his career

The Barcelona side of the 1990s was a hotbed for some of the greatest footballers the world has ever seen. The likes of Hristo Stoichkov, Romario, and Michael Laudrup enthralled fans with their talents over the course of the decade. Ronaldo was arguably the best of Barcelona's prodigious talents.

"I have been fortunate to have many great teammates, but without a doubt Ronaldo is in the top three."

After an injury-ridden stint in Italy, Ronaldo went on to play for Barcelona's arch-rivals Real Madrid. The Brazilian lined up alongside the likes of Zinedine Zidane, David Beckham, and former Barcelona player Luis Figo to form one of the most star-studded lineups the world has ever seen.

The Brazilian genius is widely considered to be one of the best strikers to have ever graced the beautiful game.