Xavi Hernandez recently gave his opinion on who holds the title of world’s best player currently. It’s safe to say, he didn’t hesitate to put his former teammate Lionel Messi ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo in that aspect.
The Portuguese who is easily irked by such comments because of the ferocity of his rivalry with Messi responded in the cheekiest of fashions. "Everyone knows that anyone who wants to make the front pages has to talk about me, Xavi has not won a single Ballon d'Or. I have won three.”
It’s clear how deep this rivalry goes between Messi and Ronaldo. In many ways, the two have pushed each other to the limits, primarily because of being direct rivals in La Liga. The summers of 2016 were contrasting for both players.
While Ronaldo finally achieved success with his international side in the Euros Messi’s Argentina once again failed at the last hurdle in the Copa Centenario. Ronaldo made his return to Real Madrid after his injury layoff last night.
When asked about his fitness he said, “I am feeling well physically and could have played 90 minutes without problems.But I was still feeling a bit of fear at certain moments. That's only normal after a spell on the sidelines. I have gained rhythm, scored a goal and got a good feeling. Everything is great.”
Madrid are now top of La Liga, after their 5-2 win over Osasuna, as Barcelona suffered a shock defeat to Deportivo Alaves at home. Both Messi and Suarez were rested for the game as Neymar made his first start of the season.
Alaves took a shock lead in the first half but Barca equalised right after half time. Alaves took the lead once again, as both Messi and Suarez came on to try and change the game but to no avail, as the Catalans surrendered top spot.
Earlier Xavi Hernandez made this comment about Messi and Ronaldo a few days back on the debate of who is the best in the world.
“Ronaldo is a player of his time, the problem is that there is another who has been pretty much the best player in history,
“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.”
It’s very understandable why Ronaldo hit back at the former Barcelona star, considering the comments he made.
