Messi has only respect for Ronaldo

Posted Thursday, August 16, 2012 by ESPN

Barcelona star Lionel Messi stated that there are no ill feelings towards Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo but he'd rather want a team-mate to win the Ballon d'Or.

The two players are arguably the most famous footballers plying their trade in the La Liga. And their goalscoring feats have been so phenomenal that many observers feel that the two have an intense rivalry between them, especially as they are regularly considered to be leading candidates for the title of the best player in the world of football.
The annual contest between their respective sides for the La Liga title only adds fuel to the debate and both sets of fans regularly champion the two stars in various forums.

With regards to critics in the footballing world, the FIFA Ballon d'Or, the world's most prestigious footballing prize, is often utilised as the means to settle the contest and the Argentinean superstar leads the race with three Ballon d'Or awards, compared to the Portuguese's only success which occurred in 2008.

But while Ronaldo has been a famously opinionated character, the Barca forward has always remained quiet and has rarely spoken about Ronaldo.

On Wednesday, however, he chose to break the silence and told Ole magazine: "With Cristiano [Ronaldo] there's no problem. It all comes from the media. I've never competed with Cristiano or fought against him."

He did go on to state, however, that he would much rather see one of his team-mates lift the famous prize if he were to fail to win it for a third consecutive year.

"There is no kind of anger between us, only respect, but I would love for Iniesta or Xavi, who have for many years attained many important achievements such as the World Cup and European Championship, to win it [Ballon d'Or] should I fail," he agreed.

"Obviously Ronaldo, who is a great player, as well as [Iker] Casillas, have naturally been discussed in the race for the prize too, but my friendship with both my team-mates presides."