Ronaldo picks Messi over Cristiano

In the ongoing dispute between the best two players in the world, Brazilian great Ronaldo came on stage to praise Lionel Messi over Portugal's star Cristiano Ronaldo.

“Messi is a little above Cristiano in my opinion,” the former Brazil star told reporters.

"I give preference to Messi, because he's a player who fascinates us more, who shows more creativity - even though he's from Argentina, which has a big rivalry with Brazil. I admire both players, though."

The 35-year-old then went on to discuss the future of young compatriot Neymar, and stressed that he needs to move to Europe in order to make the next step forward.

“I think Neymar still has a phase to complete, to play in Europe and triumph playing in Europe.”

Ronaldo is eagerly anticipating the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, and even though they have been booed in recent matches, the former PSV Eindhoven remarked: “We have Neymar, who is a huge talent, Pato, Thiago Silva, who is another excellent defender. Ganso, Oscar. We have a very young team."

Brazil were eliminated in the quarter-finals at both the 2006 and 2010 World Cups.