Lionel Messi says Cristiano Ronaldo is a predator

In a recent interview, Lionel Messi opened up about Cristiano Ronaldo, and also talked about Neymar's desire to return to Camp Nou. He also spoke about his future in Barcelona.

The 32-year Argentine behemoth called his arch-nemesis, Ronaldo, a "predator" and praised his goal-scoring run in Serie A. He said that for Ronaldo, it is normal to score in almost every game in spite of the fact that the Portuguese superstar has recently turned 35, which indeed is a respectable age in football.

Meanwhile, he also mentioned that Real Madrid was affected because of Ronaldo's departure.

The Barca forward said, "It's normal that he continues to score, he is a predatory striker, he loves to score, any day he plays he will score. Madrid has great players, but Cristiano scores 50 goals per season. We will see (on retirement). The reality is, as the years roll on, I don't know, but I feel good, better than in previous years, although I don't score many goals. Physically, when it comes to my legs, I feel good."

Ronaldo's second year with Juventus was full of injuries, and consequently, he scored a smaller number of goals. However, given his number of appearances and goal tally, the numbers still seem superior as compared to other strikers, let alone the footballers of his age.

The former Real Madrid and Manchester United star has scored 12 goals for Juve in the last 10 games. Overall, he has already netted 20 goals so far this season, which is one less than what he scored during the last season.

Meanwhile, Messi netted 18 goals for Barcelona. The Catalan side has 15 games left in La Liga, and at least a couple in the UEFA Champions League. Currently, Barca is positioned second in La Liga, as they are one point behind the leaders, Real Madrid. In 24 matches, Barcelona has 52 points with 16 wins to their name.

It has been a couple of years that Ronaldo and Messi haven't competed against each other in La Liga. Their rivalry gained the attention of millions of football fans across the world and sparked debates over which of them is the GOAT (greatest of all time).

During the interview published on FC Barcelona's website, the 32-year-old legend also said that he would love to see Neymar return to Camp Nou and mentioned that the Brazilian is eager to rejoin the Spanish club.