Lionel Messi Is More 'Selfish' Compared To Cristiano Ronaldo, Says Valencia Legend

Former Argentine footballer Mario Kempes has made an interesting comparison between Juventus ace Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona captain Lionel Messi.

The Valencia legend spoke to Diario AS ahead of the Copa del Rey final, and while he praised the 31-year-old Argentine forward, he identified a more "selfish" approach compared to his fellow five-time Ballon d'Or winner.

"Messi is Messi and Messi is Barcelona. What you do or do not do is key. When Messi is on the pitch, get ready, because you do not know when he's going to turn on you," he explained.

"But Messi should not surprise us. We've seen him do everything, although I think he has slowed down a bit and now I see him wanting to do more things on his own.

"Before I saw more team player, now I see someone more selfish in their actions.

"It's the opposite of Cristiano Ronaldo, who now plays more for the team than for himself."

Aside from comparing the two players, Kempes admitted that the criticism directed towards Messi wasn't personal, saying that the Argentines are known to "criticize what is ours."

"To me, if they ask me with whom I would have liked to have played, I would say Messi... because I already played with [Diego] Maradona," he continued.

Messi has had no problem in maintaining his goalscoring form this season, having picked up this season's European Golden Shoe.

Despite the fact that he has won the award a record six times, the Argentina captain said on Friday that Barcelona's stinging defeat to Liverpool in the Champions League semi-finals remains in his mind.

"Honestly, I am not even thinking about the European Golden Shoe. Not in my head at all," he explained at a press conference.

"What happened at Liverpool is in my head -- like I said, it was a big blow and I am not thinking about personal things, just getting to this Copa final and winning another trophy."

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Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: valencia, Football News, Football, Barcelona, Serie A, Lionel Messi, old lady, Juventus, Cristiano Ronaldo, La Liga, Barca

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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