Xavi Hernandez and Cristiano Ronaldo have been involved in a war of words recently and now Samuel Eto’o has come out in defence of his former Barcelona team-mate Xavi claiming that the Spaniard midfielder should have won the Ballon d’Or five or six times.
Real Madrid star Ronaldo had dismissed Xavi’s decision to play in Qatar and had ridiculed him for not winning the Ballon d’Or while he had won it three times. Ronaldo was responding to the comments from Xavi that Lionel Messi was quite clearly much better than the Portuguese superstar.
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Former Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o felt that the Real Madrid’s star reaction was unnecessary and that one’s success cannot be recognised by individual awards.
"A player can't say because they have four or five [Ballons d'Or], they're the best," he told Spanish radio station Cadena SER.
"If the Ballon d'Or was fair, Xavi would have won five or six. He deserves all the respect in the world.
"Xavi did not say what he said [about Messi being the best] out of a lack of respect. Xavi is Xavi."
Xavi had rubbed Ronaldo off the wrong way when he had said that Ronaldo was an ‘elite player’ but he was unlucky to be born in the era of Lionel Messi. However, Ronaldo’s reply was rather less polite:
"I'm the most searched player on the internet. Anyone who wants free publicity or media attention talks about me.
"I couldn't care less about what Xavi says about me, he plays in Qatar or I don't even know where.
"He's won every collective trophy, including a World Cup and the European Championship, but he's never won a Ballon d'Or."
Samuel Eto’o is currently playing for Turkish side Antalyaspor, but he spent five fruitful years at Barcelona. During that time, he could witness Messi’s magic first hand and Eto’o also like his team-mate Xavi feels that Messi is better than Ronaldo.
He added: "I'll always go with Messi because of the things I've seen him do.
"That doesn't take away from the fact Cristiano is making history in football. But I go with Messi because I've been closer to him."
The debate between Ronaldo and Messi has dominated world football, but, while there are various players and fans who have their own picks, there is no denying the fact that Messi and Ronaldo are the two greatest players of this generation.
