Thierry Henry has described Lionel Messi as ‘a freak’ but also has respect for Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo.

The former Barcelona forward was speaking to the BBC in a chat with ex-Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand, and believes that his old teammate at Camp Nou is more talented than the Portugal international.

“Lionel Messi is the best player in the world but I respect the amount of work Cristiano Ronaldo has put into the game,” Henry said.

“But Messi is just a freak. It is nice for kids to watch as they can see one guy who was given a gift and the other guy who does it through hard work.

“Louis Saha used to tell me Ronaldo was the hardest worker at Manchester United. I am not saying Messi does not work hard – but it is more natural.

“Ronaldo had to work really hard to reach the top. They have the same mentality but that's the difference.”

The Arsenal hero also believes that Luis Suarez will be a success after completing a switch from Liverpool to Camp Nou.

“He has everything. He's in your face, he's arrogant in a good way, he can volley it, he can score headers.

“He has that vicious side to his game – I will not call it cheating. He knows how to score goals. We have seen it against England. They gave him two chances and he scored two goals.”

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