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I was twice as good as Messi and Ronaldo, says Romario

Former Brazil striker Romario has boasted that he is a superior goal scorer to either Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Clasico pair have been rivals throughout their respective careers but have emerged as the game’s two elite stars over the course of the last decade due to their scoring exploits for Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively.

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Ronaldo may be waiting to get off the mark in La Liga this season, but even though Lionel Messi has 11 in seven matches in the same competition, for Barca ace Romario believes he is better than both.

“In scoring goals, I was better than both Messi and Romario. More than twice as good,” he told Globoesporte. “It’s true, though, they have different characteristics to the ones I had.

Romario GFX

“Today, along with Neymar, they are the best in the world. They have achieved many titles, but leaving modesty aside, I can say that even though they have won many Ballons d’Or, in that area I’m still better.”

Romario claims to have scored over 1000 goals in his career – 1003 to be precise – and he does not think that either of the current superstars will be able to achieve that mark.

“They’re both over 30, so it will be very difficult,” he said.

Now a politician, the 51-year-old 1994 World Cup winner’s best league season came when he scored 30 in 33 games for Barcelona in 1993-94. That is a tally both Ronaldo and Messi have bettered six times in their careers.

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