Messi has said he considers himself and Ronaldo to be on a different level

Lionel Messi has said he considers himself and Cristiano Ronaldo to be on a different level to the rest of the players in the world.

Messi was asked about who he rated as the standout footballers around at the moment and was quick to rattle off a list of names before making it clear how highly he thinks of Ronaldo.

“Today, there are very good players, Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Luis Suarez, Eden Hazard, any of them could be the best in the world,” he said. “But I took Cristiano of that group and put him with me.”

“It was nice playing against Cristiano even if it was difficult. I enjoyed winning cups when he was at Madrid. It would be nice if he were still there.”