Football Talk - Messi full of praise for Ronaldo - 26/05/09
Lionel Messi has admitted he would pay to watch Cristiano Ronaldo while also reaffirming his wish to stay at Barcelona for the rest of his career. Messi faces the current World Player of the Year when Barca meet Manchester United in Wednesday's eagerly-awaited Champions League final in Rome.
The Argentinian has acknowledged Sir Alex Ferguson's side have quality all over the pitch, although he believes Ronaldo is something special.
"Manchester United have quality everywhere," Messi told the Daily Mail. "So many good players. But if I had to pick one out it would be Ronaldo. He is a player I would pay to watch. He and I are very different players but he is unbelievable, very special, and it will not be easy to stop him. But we must not pay all attention to him and forget about Berbatov, Rooney and Carlos Tevez. Manchester United have players all over the pitch who can punish you in the same way we have."
Messi has again reaffirmed his loyalty to the Catalan outfit stating he wants to stay at Camp Nou for the rest of his career. "I have said so many times that I am so happy at Barcelona, and I have no desire to ever leave," he added. "I owe them so much. I want to repay them for the rest of my career. I am loyal to Barcelona.
"The doctors at home in Argentina told my parents I would never grow past 4ft 5in. The medical bills were very high. My father took on other jobs but even then it was not enough for the other bills. Nobody else was prepared to take a chance on me apart from Barcelona and if it was not for them I would not even be a professional football player."
Meanwhile, Messi is hoping both Andres Iniesta and Thierry Henry will be fit for the Roma showdown. "Iniesta has had a spectacular season and it's the same with Henry, who has scored a lot of goals. It will be a lot easier if they are there," he told Sport. "I hope that both can be in the final, they are very important and deserve to play in a game like this. It would be very good."
