Cristiano Ronaldo Slams Xavi, Questions Relevance over Lionel Messi Comments
Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo hit back at Barcelona legend Xavi on Saturday over his comments comparing the Portugal international to Lionel Messi, questioning the midfielder's relevance during his post-match interview after the 5-2 LaLiga win over Osasuna.
As AS reported, Xavi weighed in on the never-ending comparisons between former team-mate Messi and Ronaldo, telling Cadena SER there is no comparing the two, as the Argentinian is clearly better: “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 to stop. He’s superior to everyone, unless you support Real Madrid.”
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That did not sit well with Ronaldo, who didn't respond to the comments until after the win over Osasuna, a match in which he opened the scoring.
The 31-year-old focused on individual accolades and Xavi's decision to move to Qatar after his Barcelona career, saying: “Everyone knows that if they want to get on the front page they have to speak about me. He doesn’t have any Ballon d’Ors and I have three. Why is Xavi relevant? He plays in Qatar. I’m the most searched-for sportsman on social media.”
Ronaldo's comments caused quite a stir on social media, with plenty of pundits believing they reinforced the stereotype Ronaldo cares more about individual glory than team accomplishments. Agence France-Presse''s Kieran Canning was one of them:
Spanish football author Sid Lowe also questioned the comments:
Xavi never won the Ballon d'Or during his career, but he did win an impressive seven LaLiga titles and four UEFA Champions Leagues and is widely considered among the greatest playmakers of all time.
He also added a FIFA World Cup and two European titles to his resume with the national team and made the FIFA/FIFPro World XI every year between 2008 and 2013.
Most importantly, he was a team-mate of Messi for many years, so it's only natural he'd point to the five-time Ballon d'Or winner as the better of the two. If the same question had been directed to Iker Casillas, who spent years on the same team as Ronaldo before leaving for FC Porto, he likely would have picked Ronaldo.
These latest comments will only add fuel to what is already one of the best rivalries in football, both on an individual and team level. Barcelona and Real will meet in Week 14 of the 2016-17 season, with the Catalans hosting Los Blancos at the Camp Nou early December.
