Napoli new boy Ruiz claims Cavani is better than Messi & Ibra

Posted Wednesday, February 02, 2011 by sport360.com

New Napoli signing Victor Ruiz has compared in-form striker Edinson Cavani to Serie A superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the world’s best player, Lionel Messi.

Cavani scored his second hat-trick of the season against Sampdoria on Sunday, and that win means Napoli head to Chievo in second place in the table.

The modest Cavani has played down his exploits, insisting the team must come first, but Ruiz is more than aware of his new team-mate’s value.

Having witnessed the 17-goal Uruguayan and strike partner Ezequiel Lavezzi tear Samp to shreds, he said: “I was impressed. They are very strong. Two fantastic players.

“I’ve played against Ibrahimovic and Messi, but, Lavezzi and Cavani seemed even stronger. Thank God I have them on my side. There will be no problems for me.”

Ruiz completed his move from Espanyol on transfer deadline day and is looking forward to integrating himself into a winning team.

He added: “At the moment I am only thinking of integrating fully with the environment.

“The dream is then to fight for important goals, but it is too early to talk about it.

“We must try and win a game at a time and stay focused on the present.

“Napoli are a well-built team and we should go down the road gradually.”

The next step on that road is Chievo’s Stadio Marc’Antonio Bentegodi against a side that are unbeaten in their last four games and won 3-0 at Brescia at the weekend.