‘Cristiano Ronaldo is inflexible and limited, don’t compare him to Lionel Messi’ – Xavi Hernández

Barcelona and Spanish legend, Xavi Hernández, who has never hidden how much he loves playing with former team mate Lionel Messi, is at again praising the Argentine legend and pointing out reasons why Cristiano Ronaldo can’t be compared to Messi.

Xavi Hernández, who made 505 appearances and scored 58 goals for Barcelona, before leaving for Al Sadd in Qatar, in an interview with Marca, said Ronaldo is inflexible and limited in terms of his ability to adapt to different tactical strategies, unlike Lionel Messi.



He said;

‘Messi is a master in the collective and individual senses. But for Ronaldo, that kind of linking up takes a lot. Messi does everything well.
‘If a coach were to say, “We’re going to play with us all running back” then Messi would also be the best at that.

‘If you ask Ronaldo to play with one or two touches then I don’t know if he would be the best.

‘Ronaldo is [the best] as a shooter, he’s incredible at that and is a historic player.
‘But with Messi you cannot compare. He is the best player at Barcelona and he would also be the best if playing for [Diego] Simeone’s Atletico Madrid.
‘Messi makes any player better. The whole group made me better, because I need all my team-mates.’

‘I can’t do things alone, I’m not that strong and am better in positional play, knowing where my team-mates are.’