Barcelona legend Xavi says former teammate Lionel Messi is better when compared to rival Real Madrid’s talisman Cristiano Ronaldo. The duo of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have now been dominating the world of European football in the past decade, sharing as many as eight Ballon d’Ors among each other.
The Argentine is considered by many to be the greatest footballer of all time, having won four Champions League trophies, three Club World Cups and eight La Liga titles along with a record five FIFA Ballon d’Ors in his trophy cabinet.
But despite guiding Argentina to three consecutive finals, the tag for the best footballer is now shifting to the Portuguese after Messi failed to add an international glory in his successful career at the Copa America this summer, missing a crucial penalty in the final. Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo picked up the Champions League with the Los Blancos before going on to win the Euro 2016 tournament with his country, despite not being fit enough to play in all matches.
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But playing alongside the retired Spanish playmaker, Messi has scored 314 goals for Barcelona in over 350 appearances along with winning 29 titles with Barcelona. Xavi who now plays in Qatar for club Al Sadd says the whole world agrees that teammate Messi is the best apart from Real Madrid fans.
"Ronaldo is a player of his time, the problem is that there is another who has been pretty much the best player in history," Xavi told Spanish sources.
"Ronaldo is extraordinary, but compared to Messi, for me and for everyone who likes football, there can be no comparisons.
"Messi will be number one until he wants. He's superior to everyone and is the best in the world unless you are Real Madrid."
Also read: 5 things that make Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi the best duo in football history
Lionel Messi made a wonderful comeback for his national team after a short spell of retirement, scoring the lone goal in the World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay last week. Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo, on the other hand, picked up the UEFA Best player of trophy in the previous month and is already working hard to make a comeback for the Los Galacticos.
