MADRID (Sporting Alert) — Barcelona goalscoring forward Lionel Messi has revealed that the great Brazilian striker, Ronaldo was one of his boyhood football hero.
The Argentina captain who is widely recognized as the best player in the game at the moment, says he enjoyed watching the likes of French legend Zinedine Zidane and Brazilians icons Ronaldinho and Rivaldo play, but added that Ronaldo, a former World Cup winner with Brazil, “was the best striker I’ve ever seen.”
“Ronaldo was my hero,” Messi was quoted as saying in the latest edition of British football magazine FourFourTwo.
“I loved watching players like (Zinedine) Zidane, Ronaldinho and Rivaldo but Ronaldo was the best striker I’ve ever seen.
“He was so fast he could score from nothing, and could shoot the ball better than anyone I’ve ever seen.”
Messi is one of front runners to win the Ballon d’Or award for the world’s best footballer, an accolade he is vying for with Real Madrid and Portugal world class winger Cristiano Ronaldo.
Messi, 25, has won the prestigious award three times.
