Barcelona great Xavi has claimed that Lionel Messi is “the best player in history”, despite constant comparisons with Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Catalan icon was full of praise for their heated rival Ronaldo too, calling him “spectacular” – but added that Messi trumps the Portuguese skipper.
Xavi added that Ronaldo deserves credit for his extra-ordinary skills and his amazing goal scoring ability, but he is trumped by the Argentine talisman.
“Cristiano Ronaldo is a born scorer, a spectacular footballer,” he told A Bola TV.
“The problem is that there is Messi, who for me is the best player in history.”
“That is the only problem that Cristiano Ronaldo has, but he is a player who scores and continues to mark an era.”
Ronaldo is set to face cross town rivals Atletico Madrid in the semi-final of the Champions League on Tuesday – The game sees last season’s finalists go head to head again with Atletico out for revenge for the painful defeat they suffered in the penalty shootout, which came just two years after Sergio Ramos scored a late equalizer against them in the 2014 final, which Real went on to win in injury time.
Meanwhile, the La Liga title race is set to go down to the wire as both Barca and Real are fighting neck-to-neck for the top flight title.