Former Barcelona captain Xavi has claimed that it is only Real Madrid fans who rate Cristiano Ronaldo above his former teammate Lionel Messi.
The Nou Camp legend, who made over 700 appearances in all competitions for the La Liga giants, admitted that Ronaldo is extraordinary but Messi is the greatest player in history.
A four-time Champions League winner with current Spanish champions, Xavi is won of the most decorated footballers of all time and he believes that Messi is so good that he can choose how long he remains the greatest for.
In an interview with Cadena SER (via Goal) the 36-year-old said, “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.”
In terms of winning the Ballon D’or it is 29-year-old Messi that is superior as the Argentina international has been crowned Player of the Year on five separate occasions- four of which came in consecutive years from 2009-2012- whereas Ronaldo has won the award three times.
Their goalscoring records for their current clubs are both exceptional with Messi scoring 459 in 537 for Barcelona in all competitions, whilst Ronaldo has netted 364 times across 348 games for Real Madrid.
In La Liga last season, it was Ronaldo who had the more impressive stats as he managed 35 goals and 11 assists in 36 appearances, whilst Messi scored 26 goals and 16 assists but did also played three less games than his Portuguese rival.
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