Former Barcelona striker Patrick Kluivert says the star of the current team, Leo Messi, needs his rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo to keep pushing him to new heights.
Messi and Ronaldo have been the stand out pair in world football for the past few years, sharing all sorts of individual honours included Ballon d’Ors and breaking plenty of goalscoring records along the way.
Both players themselves play down the rivalry between them but in an interview with Voetbal Zone, ex-Holland striker Kluivert said they need each other to improve their games and take their careers to new heights.
“Messi is in a different dimension with his football, but I also think he urgently needs someone like Cristiano Ronaldo. He needs someone who gives him an incentive to go for it every game, to see each match as a challenge. Both players are world class and a level above the rest,” he stated.
And he continued: “At Barcelona, now there is only one central player: Messi. During my time, there were several important players there, though on the other hand Messi’s nothing without his team-mates.”
Both players have yet to hit the back of the net this season in their opening two La Liga fixtures and will be eager to set that right when it returns next week.
