School children hate it, superstars hate it, siblings hate and yes, sports players definitely hate it. Comparisons. Like every other field, even soccer has its own compare and contrast and in soccer the lucky pair is Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

Real-ly Madrid!

It has been somewhat of an unfair comparison however. Ronaldo has beaten his own record by scoring the highest goals in the season. He scored 46 goals this season and 60 overall and even then, it is Lionel Messi who walks under the limelight.

In an interview, Ronaldo said that there always have been comparisons between him and Messi and even after a great season, the reporters all ask the same thing: Who is better? He then gushed, smiled and said “I think it’s me”. He added that the comparisons sometimes go overboard as they are done all the time; after every game, every goal but he also agrees that it is inevitable.

Of course, the two players are different. They have different histories, play differently for different teams and their styles vary but all of that gets hidden behind the headlines once the game is on.

“I think we push each other sometimes in the competition, this is why the competition is so high. This is why Madrid and Barcelona are the best teams in the world because everyone pushes each other, not just me and Messi but other players.”

On talking about handling the media pressure, Ronaldo said that there are lots of expectations that come on him; from his coach, his team, his fans etc but he also knows that he cannot be that brave all the time. He will smile for the people that matter to him, he said. The rest are, well, just people.

And he couldn’t be more right. After a fantastic season, tremendous effort from his side as well as the team, he couldn’t be happier with the way that things shaped out.

“Nine points separated Madrid and Barcelona; it’s a lot here in Spain. We played better than them this year, I’m sure about that”

He has had his share of downs and disappointments in the team as well. The team lost to Bayern in the Champions League Semifinals. That loss was even more disappointing as it was all because of penalties. Ronaldo said that it was one of the toughest days he has had to face.

But clouds cleared and the team got all the accolades it deserved. And now that Pep Guardiola has made his exit, Ronaldo believes that Real can really do some magic out there!

Tags: Barcelona, Champions League, Cristiano Ronaldo, Football, Lionel Messi, Madrid, Pep Guardiola, Soccer, Sports