Bayern Munich midfielder Xabi Alonso has pulled no punches in his assessment over who is the best player in the world – Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi?
The former Real Madrid man, who will face Messi at the Camp Nou on Tuesday when the Germans take on Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final first leg, was certain of his answer when asked who the better footballer was.
“They are both amazing players and you can see that from the goals they score day in day out,” Alonso told a Press conference.
“However, while I was at Madrid, for me, Cristiano was the best. Messi is a great player and it’s not easy to stop him, but we’ll try.
“I’ve played against Barca a lot of times over the years but this time it will be very different. We’re all looking forward to it and hope to put in a good performance.
“It makes no difference to me if we’re playing Barcelona or whoever. This is the tie before the final.”
The Bavarians have several injured players ahead of the clash, with Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben, David Alaba and Holger Badstuber all out, while Robert Lewandowski is a doubt after suffering a broken jaw and nose last week.
Nonetheless, Alonso has refused to make it an excuse.
“The injured players are not an excuse although we would have liked to have all our players fit. But we are coming into the game with the same tension and will to compete as we would have without the injuries,” he explained.
