Former England international Gary Lineker has stated that he considers Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi to be a much better player than Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese international recently helped Real Madrid win the Champions League title, while he also created a new record by scoring 15 goals in the competition in a single campaign. Messi, in contrast, had a terrible second half of the season with Barcelona, as he failed to lift any major title, while also coming under increasing criticism for the lack of interest.
Messi has been having a few touches on the ball and has also been working very little for the team in the second half of the season. There have been rumours that he is unhappy at Barcelona, but for the moment, Lineker says that Messi is a much better player. The debate between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will be going on at the World Cup 2014, as both players are set to take part in this prestigious competition. Argentina, though, have a slightly easier group compared to Portugal, who will be up against Germany, Ghana, and the USA.
Ronaldo, however, is one of the favourites amongst bookmakers to end up as the top scorer in the tournament. He is the current holder of the FIFA Ballon d’Or award.
“For me Messi is a gift from the footballing gods. He’s just such a phenomenal talent, a player that doesn’t only best people but memorises them and produces magical moments, scores a multitude of goals and he’s always an honest player. He gets kicked, he gets hacked, he gets up. He never dives, he doesn’t cheat. He’s just a brilliant example for footballers everywhere. For me Messi just edges it in the sense that he’s more of a team player,” said the former England star.