Ronaldo: Messi fascinates us more than Cristiano Ronaldo

Ronaldo: Messi fascinates me more than Cristiano Ronaldo

Sep 15, 2012 9:15:00 AM

The former striker prefers the Argentine over the Portugal forward and believes Brazil will come good in time for the World Cup

Ronaldo feels that Barcelona star Lionel Messi is slightly better than Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo, as he is more of a creative force.

The Primera Division stars are seen by many as the best two players in the world at present, and Ronaldo has nothing but praise for the Argentine, while also voicing his admiration for Portugal's shining light.

"Messi is a little above Cristiano Ronaldo in my opinion," the former Brazil star was quoted as saying by CNN.

"I give preference to Messi, because he's a player who fascinates us more, who shows more creativity - even though he's from Argentina, which has a big rivalry with Brazil.

"I admire both players, though."

The 35-year-old then went on to discuss the future of young compatriot Neymar, and stressed that he needs to move to Europe in order to make the next step forward.

"I think Neymar still has a phase to complete, to play in Europe and triumph playing in Europe."

Ronaldo is eagerly anticipating the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, and even though the Selecao have been unable to impress in recent years, the former attacker is hopeful they can challenge for the trophy in two years' time.

"I think in the last victories we had in the World Cup [1994 and 2002], the team was traditionally created in the last year. So I think we still have time," he added.

"We have Neymar, who is a huge talent, Pato, Thiago Silva, who is another excellent defender. Ganso, Oscar. We have a very young team, but they are playing at a high level and that gives us big hope for a victory."

Brazil were eliminated in the quarter-finals at both the 2006 and 2010 World Cups.

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