Barcelona defender Gerard Pique heaped praise on Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo but insists that Lionel Messi is in a league of his own.
Ronaldo and Messi went up against each other in Sunday’s Clasico where Madrid walked away with a 2-1 win at the Nou Camp, with the Portuguese scoring the winner for Zinedine Zidane’s side.
Pique, who first featured in the same team as Messi during his days at Barca’s famed La Masia academy before opting for a move to England, where he played alongside Ronaldo at Manchester United, winning an English Premier League and Champions League double in the 2007-08 season.
Since moving back to Barcelona, Pique has teamed up with Messi to pick up five La Liga titles, three Copa del Rey winners’ medals and three Champions League crowns.
Having seen both stars in action, the Spanish centre-back is adamant there is no comparison between the two.
“I think that they are both amazing,” Pique told BT Sport. “We are talking about two of the best players, not just in the world but the history of this sport.
“I always said that Messi has some talent that no one has. I mean, he has the ball and his speed controlling the ball. The ball doesn’t go two metres far from his foot, it’s always there. It’s impossible to catch him, this talent I didn’t see from anyone
“Cristiano Ronaldo is such a different player, they are very different. He is tall, strong, he’s really complete. He can do anything. He can do goals with the head, free-kicks, penalties, take one on one.
“But for me it’s like Messi is not human but Cristiano is the best of the humans.”
Pique also weighed in on two of the best coaches he has ever worked with, Sir Alex Ferguson at United and Pep Guardiola during his time with Barca.
“When I was at Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson was already 20 years as the coach of Manchester United, so he took the position of the coach in a different style than Guardiola,” he added.
“Guardiola was really young, it was his first year as a first-team coach and he was really intense every training, you cannot imagine.
“Sir Alex Ferguson, when I was there I remember [Carlos] Quieroz was the guy who took training, he [Ferguson] was like more outside, controlling everything, taking a different position.”
“And Guardiola was like every day, he was there, but both of them you can see their careers. I think they’re both fantastic.”
Pique will be keen to forget Saturday’s loss to Real Madrid as he focuses on helping Barcelona tackle Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarterfinal tie on Tuesday.
