Barcelona captain Lionel Messi has hailed his rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, for his ability in front of goal after the Juventus star’s recent impressive goalscoring form. According to the Barca forward, Ronaldo’s goal-scoring streak is not a surprise to him because he knows what his rival can do.
Ronaldo has found the back of the net in 11 straight league games for Juventus despite turning 35 this month and has a staggering 24 goals to his name this campaign.
Meanwhile, Messi has netted 14 times in 19 league games for Barcelona this season as he also been prolific in front of goal at the age of 32. He has, however, not scored in four recent matches for Barcelona but has made six assists in his three games.
Speaking to Mundo Deportivo about Ronaldo’s recent performances, the Argentine said Ronaldo is obsessed about scoring and isn’t surprised to see the Portuguese star bang in goals.
“It’s normal that he continues to score, he is a predatory striker, he loves to score, any day he plays he will score.
“He has many good attributes as a forward and at the minimum he converts.”
The Barcelona captain also admitted that he is still hungry for more goals despite his advancing age, suggesting that he could play until he’s 40 years.
“The reality is that one is turning years old and does not know, but I feel very good, better than in previous years, and that I am not making goals, but on a physical level and legs I feel very good,” he said.
Messi claimed the battle to win the La Liga may be decided till the last match of the season due to the fact that his side is currently one point adrift of league rival Real Madrid.
“It is true that it is a year that in the league both Madrid and we are being very irregular, where we lost many points and in that sense I think we will be fighting until the end and that the league does not end after El Classico, whatever happens,” Messi said.
“There will be important matches. We have hard outings and they do too.
“Afterwards, it is true that if we want to qualify for the Champions League we have to continue growing a lot, because I think that today it is not enough for us to fight for the Champions League.”
