Barcelona captain, Lionel Messi has hailed Juventus superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo for giving a plus to the rivalry in El Clasico and La Liga during his time at Real Madrid. Messi also admitted that he wanted his eternal rival, Ronaldo, to continue with Real Madrid. Ronaldo left Real Madrid as their all-time highest goalscorer to join the Serie A champions, Juventus in the summer of 2018. “I wanted him [Ronaldo] to continue with Real Madrid,” Messi told RAC1. “He gave a plus to the rivalry in the Clasico and La Liga.” Messi added: “Real Madrid will continue to challenge because they have very good players, but I already said that the team was going to feel his loss for what he meant and that the squad would notice. “But they have plenty of players to allow them to fight for every title and they have a lot of history.”

Sergio Ramos: They could make a Ballon d'Or for Cristiano and Messi, then another for everyone else Sergio Ramos  has joked that  Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo  deserve their own Ballon d'Or award separate from the rest of the football world. The Argentinian won his sixth last week, putting him ahead of the Portuguese's five, which the latter apparently wasn't best pleased about, but his former  Real Madrid  teammate has a solution. "They could make a Ballon d'Or only for  Cristiano and Messi ,"  Ramos  told Ivan Zamorano in an interview with TUDN. "Then there could be another for the rest. In the end it'd be better for football." The  Real Madrid  captain has been key in their recent domination of Europe, winning four Champions Leagues in five years in the capital, but there's one moment that stands above the rest for him. "The goal in Lisbon," he responded when asked what was his best Champions League memory, "

LIONEL MESSI is the greatest player of all-time and is more entertaining to watch than Cristiano Ronaldo. That is accroding to former Inter Milan and Uruguay forward Alvaro Recoba. Messi and Ronaldo are widely regarded as being the best two players of their generation and they have taken the game to a new level in recent years. Until last year where Luka Modris won the award, either Messi or Ronaldo had won the last ten Ballon d'Or trophies on offer. The award has been shared five times each and the debate as to who is the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) goes on and on. Lionel Messi branded 'best of all time' after comparison in career of Cristiano Ronaldo (Pic: GETTY) And both can state a solid claim as to who is the best when all things are considered. Messi has played for Barcelona for the whole of his career and has won everything there is to win at club level. The Argentina international helped himself to a tenth La Liga crown of his career last

Ronaldo is the record winner of the award While it might seem like everything concerning last season has been done and dusted with all the major competitions having been decided, it is germane to note that one aspect which has not been settled is the handing out of individual awards based on perfomances in the period under review. Numerous prestigious personal awards are still to be decided, with the Ballon d'Or, FIFA Best and UEFA Best Men's Player accolades all coming up for grabs in the next couple of months. While it might be in the shadow of more illustrious awards like the Ballon d'Or and FIFA Best, the UEFA awards are prestigious accolades in their own right and are highly rated by players and fans alike. The awards were introduced in 2011 to initially replace the Ballon d'Or (which was merged with the FIFA World Best in 2010), and has Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric as its current holder. Crstiano Ronaldo is the record winner of the accolade, while Lio

In an interview with 'CNN', Ronaldo Nazario was asked about Argentina's national team, Messi, Maradona and even Mbappé. Regarding the two Argentinian greats, he said: "They are two geniuses who will remain in the history of football forever". Ronaldo was interviewed by 'CNN'. Captura/CNN Now dedicated to helping run Real Valladolid, Ronaldo still has the aura of the player that  amazed the world  as he broke through as a teenager years ago. A respected voice throughout the sport, 'O Fenómeno' was asked about his take on the age-old  Messi v Maradona debate  in Argentina. "You could close your eyes and just pick one, and I'm sure that he'd score you goals. They're two footballing superstars. I'm not really into making comparisons,  because they're very unfair,  they're very difficult and especially when it comes to different generations. Maradona played in a generation quite a few years ago, but they are  two genius

The debate over Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will continue on long after both men retire. They are undoubtedly two of the greatest players of all time, but fans love to argue over who the true GOAT really is. See Also:- Lionel Messi branded 'Best of all Time' after comparison in career of Christiano Ronaldo  Messi stakes his claim by dominating domestically while the pair went toe-to-toe in Spain. He won eight La Liga titles with Barcelona while Ronaldo was at Real Madrid, winning just two. The Portuguese found incredible success in Europe during that period though, guiding Los Blancos to four Champions League wins, adding to the success he had with Manchester United. This summer, fans have found something else to bolster Ronaldo’s case over Messi – his more impressive performance on the international stage. International goals scored by Messi & Ronaldo Ronaldo vs Messi in competitive internationals Messi & Ronaldo miss out on most valuable

Ronaldo Nazario en rueda de prensa | EFE In an interview with MARCA, Ronaldo wanted to first wish Lionel Messi a happy birthday. "I want to wish him a happy birthday and I hope he lives for another 100 years. Well, what can you say to Leo? Play football for the rest of your life! I believe Leo is a player that the world loves to watch." A lot of people like to compare Messi's achievements and performances for Barça with those for Argentina. "I think it's unfair those types of comparisons. At Barcelona he's training with his teammates on a daily basis, he is allowed to be more relaxed and is able to develop his best football. But I don't think there's a difference. I'm convinced that Messi wants to win something with the national team and would do everything within his power to make it possible. At 32, he could turn down playing in a Copa America. Instead, he's put off going on holiday in order to stay with his country and help

REAL MADRID BARCELONA PRIMERA DIVISIÓN LIONEL MESSI CRISTIANO RONALDO A galaxy of stars have lit up the Santiago Bernabeu down the years, but no effort has ever been made to lure the Argentina icon from Barcelona Real Madrid have favoured a Galactico recruitment policy for some time, but Jeronimo Farre has explained why no effort has ever been made to lure Lionel Messi from Barcelona. A galaxy of stars have made their way to the Santiago Bernabeu down the years and some have even crossed the Clasico divide having previously spent time at Camp Nou. Luis Figo famously swapped the Blaugrana for the Blancos in 2000, while Brazilian striker Ronaldo ended up in the Spanish capital after taking in an earlier spell in Catalunya. Other notable deals have seen the likes of Zinedine Zidane, David Beckham, Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo link up with Madrid. Messi would have been expected to register on Real’s transfer radar at some stage, regardless of his strong ties to Barca. Ther

The former Nou Camp star reckons that the Egyptian forward has everything it takes to succeed in La Liga but prefers Barca to Real as his destination Mohamed Salah has been encouraged to leave Liverpool and join Barcelona by former Blaugrana striker Samuel Eto’o. Salah has been in incredible form for the Anfield outfit since joining from Roma in the summer of 2017. He scored the opening goal in their Champions Leaguefinal victory over Tottenham on June 1, one of 54 goals in 74 appearances. Those performances have caught the attentions of Europe’s top clubs with the Egypt international forward linked with joining Zinedine Zidane’s new galactico project at Real Madrid. But Eto’o who, like Salah, played for Chelsea in a storied career, believes the 27-year-old would be better off at Barca. The former Cameroon international also spent time at Madrid, playing in their academy and making three appearances for the senior side. “Barcelona would be a better fit,” the 38-year-old s

Messi's $84m income highlighted by United Nations in attack on women footballers' pay LIONEL MESSI BARCELONA The yearly earnings of the Argentine forward have been used to emphasise the pay gap between sexes UN Women, an entity of the United Nations, has highlighted the yearly earnings of Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi as an example in their campaign to reduce the wage gap between men and women in sport. The intergovernmental organisation utilised their Facebook page to highlight the US$84 million-a-year income from his salary, bonuses, commercial deals and other payments being nearly double of the combined annual wage ($42.6m) of the 1,693 women footballers in the top seven leagues. "One male soccer player makes almost double the combined salaries of all players in the top seven women's soccer leagues," the UN post read.  Pay discrimination has been a hot topic during the Women's World Cup in France, with 28 U.S. women's national team players c

Brazil legend, Ronaldinho, on Monday congratulated Barcelona and Argentina captain, Lionel Messi, on his 32nd birthday. Ronaldinho, who took to his verified Twitter handle, wished Messi good health, happiness and success as he marks another year. The 39-year-old wrote: “Congratulations Leo! I wish you all better, health, happiness and success! I hope to see you soon, brother.” Ronaldinho played alongside Messi during his time at Barcelona. The former Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan star gave Messi his first Barcelona goal on 1st May 2005, with an assist in the club’s 2-0 victory over Albacete at Camp Nou. Messi is currently on international duty for the 2019 Copa America in Brazil.

Real Madrid director, Jeronimo Farre, has disclosed that the club is yet to sign Barcelona captain, Lionel Messi, because the Argentine international has not been feasible or affordable. He also stated that Messi is yet to play for the Los Blancos because Zinedine Zidane’s side has not been able to make it happen. Messi has been at Barcelona since his days as a teenager, with the 32-year-old developing into one of the best players of all time in the world. “If Messi hasn’t played in Madrid it’s because we’ve not been able to make it happen,” Farre told El Mundo. “Because he hasn’t been feasible or affordable. “The other mega star was Cristiano Ronaldo and Madrid enjoyed his talent for nine seasons.” Farre added, “Real Madrid are the most successful team on the continent. “We had our lean times, but we had Alfredo Di Stefano’s cycle with great players who gave us the first five European Cups. “Under Florentino [Perez]’s presidency we’ve had another brilliant time with

Copa América 2019  The Argentine crack meets this Monday 32 years ... with the pass to rooms as a gift Messi (32), at the end of the game. AFP Juan Castro Porto Alegre06/24/2019  00:44 CEST Messi meets on Monday 32 years and his gift was a qualification for the quarterfinals. This said in mixed zone with MARCA present: Classification  : "I am happy with the qualification, they are difficult games to play because of the fear of not qualifying, which is why victory is important". Improvements  : "Surely we have to improve in what is coming, but we need a victory like that to arrive with confidence to the important thing that comes, to the all or nothing, now we can not make more mistakes, start another Cup". Mark early  : "It was important to score early, we went to look for them from the beginning, and that pressure was what made them make a mistake in the first goal, then the fear of having a goal made us go back, and the second part was more quiet"

Argentina's Lionel Messi (C) is marked by Nicaragua's Josue Quijano (L) and Luis Fernando Copete during their international friendly football match at the San Juan del Bicentenario stadium in San Juan, Argentina. Photo: AFP SPORTS Copa America: Messi scores twice as Argentina routs Nicaragua 5-1 Lionel Messi scored a first-half double as Argentina warmed up for the Copa America with a comprehensive 5-1 win over Nicaragua on Friday in San Juan. The Central Americans, who will participate in this month’s Gold Cup tournament while Argentina battle it out in Brazil, frustrated the home side initially. But it was left to captain Messi to spark his side into action in their only warm-up match ahead of the tournament, expertly opening the scoring on 37 minutes before grabbing another just 96 seconds later. Lautaro Martinez, the Inter Milan forward, also scored twice, coming off the substitutes bench at half-time to give coach Lionel Scaloni food for thought ahead of the opening

A Camp Nou legend believes a fellow Brazilian would be a more logical signing for the Liga champions than a World Cup winner at Atletico Madrid Barcelona have been advised to shelve any interest in Antoine Griezmann and instead look to bring Neymar back to the club, with Rivaldo seeing a move for the Brazilian making more sense. Those at Camp Nou are currently mulling over their options for the summer transfer window. A new frontman is considered to figure prominently on their wish list, with several options being mooted. Griezmann, as a long-standing target, was expected to be snapped up after requesting a switch away from Atletico Madrid. No approach has been made, though, for the French World Cup winner. That is leaving the door open for others, with Neymar having been linked with a retracing of his steps to Catalunya from Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain. Barca legend Rivaldo told  Betfair  on the approach he would take: “If I could choose one player to sign for Barcelo

Speaking to  Sky Sport  after Holland's 3-1 UEFA Nations League win over England last night, new Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong, who is to join the club from Ajax at the start of July, has called his teammate and friend Matthijs de Ligt to Barça once again. De Ligt is a target of Liverpool, Juventus and Manchester United but Barcelona have appeared as the frontrunners for some time. Speaking to  Sky , De Jong said:  "I hope he comes with me to Barça, I hope so. It is clear that we have talked about his future, but it is a topic that he and his family must discuss first. I cannot influence his decision."

According to what has been reported by Spanish outlet  Cadena Ser , Barcelona attacking midfielder Philippe Coutinho has handed in a transfer request to the Catalan giants. The former Liverpool midfielder only signed for the club in January of 2018 but is already being touted with a departure. Cadena Ser  suggest that PSG and Juventus are amongst the frontrunners for the Brazilian's signature; whilst Chelsea would also be an apparent option if their transfer ban was lifted.  Manchester United have also been linked as a potential destination for the Brazilian yet the Red Devils may opt to strengthen other areas of the squad first. Coutinho has found distance between himself and the Catalan club in recent months, leading speculation to grow that he will be leaving the club.

Juventus attacker Cristiano Ronaldo has beaten Lionel Messi to another award after the former Real Madrid forward claimed the best goal of the season in the Champions League ahead of the Argentine playmaker. Ronaldo's superb volley against Manchester United was voted the goal of the season in the Champions League, a list of the top 10 goals was compiled by a group of 'technical observers' days after Liverpool lifted the trophy in Madrid. The list of technical observers concluded that Ronaldo's superb volley was better than Messi's free-kick against Liverpool and Sadio Mane's chipped effort against Bayern Munich, with those strikes ending up in second and third respectively. Ronaldo has won the award two times in a row following his bicycle kick against Juventus for Real Madrid got the nod for the best goal of the tournament last season. Barcelona had five players in the list with spectacular goals the likes of Luis Suarez, Ousmane Dembele, Philippe Coutinho

The France Football Ballon d'Or For the first time in nearly 10 years, the Ballon d'Or, the greatest individual honour in professional football is no longer a two horse race. The last ten Ballon d'Ors have been split evenly between Ronaldo and Messi and, with the exception of a few seasons, those two have been a class apart from the rest of the footballing world. Not this season though. Of course, they've both had pretty spectacular seasons by mere mortal standards, but they've also fallen short of the lofty standards they set for themselves. Other players are catching up and this might finally be the year a player breaks the duopoly. Here are seven serious contenders for the Ballon d'Or.  Before we move on to the seven contenders, let us first take a look at a few honourable mentions. Mohamed Salah : Mo Salah had a phenomenal first season with Liverpool, scoring 32 Premier League goals as part of Liverpool's dynamite attack and scored 10 goals in the

Former Brazil striker, Ronaldo, has named five footballers he loves to watch in action. Ronaldo, who played for Real Madrid and Barcelona, left out his namesake Cristiano Ronaldo. Instead he went for Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Mohammed Salah (Liverpool), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain) and Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain). When asked by AS which current players he enjoys watching, he replied: “Messi, of course. He is number one. It is a talent that we will take 20 or 30 years to see something similar. “I also like (Mohamed) Salah, (Eden) Hazard, Neymar, I love watching him play, and of course (Kylian) Mbappe.”