Fluminense midfielder Deco has waded into the debate concerning Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo and says they are incomparable.
The Brazil native, who elected to play for Portugal later in his career, believes Messi transforms a very good Barcelona side into a sensational one but cannot decide between the two players who is best.
“Their [Barcelona] style of play won’t change," Deco said. “That’s cultural, that’s how they think football. What can change is how good you portray style on the pitch.
“Nowadays, Barcelona can almost reach perfection with this style of playing because of the players they have. And they also have a footballer who is the cherry on top of the cake. Messi is able to make this already very good team be something else."
Deco also played with Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo during his time as a Portugal international but believes the two players should not be compared.
“It is a natural comparison because they are far away in front of other players, and for media it is a fantastic subject. But I think it is unfair to compare as they have different styles, and are so good with their styles, that it would be unfair to judge who is better," he added."
“Last year, Cristiano was better in the first six months, I mean he had better stats, but in the final part Messi got better with his. How can you judge this? I don’t know, it is hard, one has a rare quality. The other has a unique mentality that will never happen again in football. So it is difficult to say."
“I saw Cristiano doing impressive things for the national team at a very young age. Cristiano impressed me with his winning mentality since he was very young, even more because of the family problems that he had and he had to live by himself early, he is an example of a person who overcame problems and we must admire this.
“His story should suggest a complicated end, but he did the best of it. He has a winning mentality that honest I have never seen. I have never met a player even with a closer mentality that the one he has."
Source: Goal.com
