Xavi: I didn’t say Ronaldo wasn’t intelligent

Posted Saturday, April 16, 2016 by squawka.com

Barcelona legend Xavi has denied that he said Cristiano Ronaldo was ‘not intelligent’ after recently comparing him to his old teammate, Lionel Messi.

In a recent interview with The New Arab, Xavi was comparing both Messi and Ronaldo and what separates the two greats of the modern game.

The Spanish legend allegedly suggested that Messi was the better of the duo because Ronaldo was not as intelligent as the Argentine.

However, Xavi has now denied those quotes and has claimed that his comments were not translated properly, hence why they came out suggesting that Ronaldo wasn’t intelligent.

''The translation of what I said was erroneous,” Xavi told Movistar+ (via Goal). “I said that there are two types of speed in football. There is the physical side, and in this aspect Messi and Cristiano are at the same level.

''And then there is the speed at which you are able to connect with your team-mates, and in this aspect Messi is of the highest level, whereas Cristiano is not.

''Cristiano does not seem like a player who excels at linking up with his team-mates. He is not a passer of the ball and that is why Messi is the best in the world for me. He has both kinds of speed, both the physical one and the one that allows him to link up with his team-mates.

''I never talked about intelligence and I never said Cristiano lacks intelligence.”

The Ronaldo and Messi debate has raged on for several years but 2015 was a mercurial year for the latter as he won five trophies and his fifth Ballon d’Or, but the Argentine has now struggled in recent weeks as the Real Madrid star has taken things up a notch again.

Ronaldo reached 30 goals in La Liga last weekend, making that six seasons in a row he has hit that figure while his hat-trick in the Champions League earlier this week took him to 16 in the competition in just 10 matches – one off his own record of 17 in a single tournament.

Meanwhile, Messi has not scored or assisted a single goal in his last five games for Barcelona.