Henry: Ronaldo Better Than Messi

Barcelona ace Thierry Henry has surprisingly conceded that he believes Cristiano Ronaldo to be better than team-mate Lionel Messi.There has been an intense rivalry between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi - or at least their supporters - of late. The debate raged as to which of them should be given the title of the best player in the world, with Ronaldo claiming the FIFA World Player of the Year award in January for last season's successes, as well as the Ballon d'Or.

What about next time? This term, the Portuguese star has found it hard to repeat such form and many are tipping the Argentina international to dethrone the Manchester United man.

But Thierry Henry, who played for eight years in the Premier League, believes that Ronaldo is the better footballer right now.

"First of all, you have to take into account that Leo [Messi] and Cristiano Ronaldo are different players," he told Record. "For sure they can play on any position from the midfield up, they both have extraordinary technique, but they are different.

"And, if Messi is scoring more goals nowadays, Ronaldo is a player that has scored more and topped the scoring charts last season.

"Then, the greatness of a player is measured by the titles he has helped his team conquer. Therefore, I have to recognise that Cristiano Ronaldo is better than Leo Messi."

Still, Henry praised Messi, whom he considers to be a player who "can make the difference at any moment".

"When Messi is playing well, he can do things that no-one else can.

"I honestly understand why there are those who compare him to Maradona but I repeat: at least right now, Cristiano Ronaldo is the best. In the future... we will see."

Early

Meanwhile, Henry stressed that it is early to judge whether this squad is Barcelona's best ever: "I am not the one to say that. In fact, I believe that, at this moment, no-one can say that.

"You can praise this team how much you want, you can talk about the numbers you want, but the truth is that we have not won anything yet."

The Frenchman also commented on the impact of Pep Guardiola, who was appointed as manager of the club in the summer and has made the club mount serious challenges for La Liga and the Champions League.

"Guardiola came with his ideas and conquered the dressing room. He made us believe that, if we followed him, we would win things. In return, he only asks for us to work."

Luís Mira, Goal.com,http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7975355609332294923