BSP-14 Messi surprised by Ronaldo leaving Madrid

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BSP-14

FBL-ESP-LIGA–MESSI-RONALDO

Messi surprised by Ronaldo leaving Madrid

BARCELONA, Sept 4, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Lionel Messi has admitted he was
surprised by Cristiano Ronaldo’s decision to leave Real Madrid and join
Juventus.

Messi also believes the transfer will leave Madrid worse off and says Juve
are now among the clear favourites to win this season’s Champions League.

Ronaldo swapped Spain for Italy in a deal worth 100 million euros ($117
million) in July, after securing a third consecutive European crown, and his
fourth in five years with Real.

But Messi, who missed out on a three-man shortlist for FIFA’s world player
of the year award on Monday, feels the balance may have shifted following the
33-year-old’s exit.

“I was surprised, I didn’t imagine him leaving Madrid or that he would go
to Juve because there was talk of many clubs (interested). The truth is I was
very surprised but Juve are also a very good team,” Messi told Catalunya
Radio.

“Real Madrid are one of the best teams in the world and they have a great
squad but it’s obvious the departure of Ronaldo makes them less strong while
Juve have become a clear favourite for the Champions League.

“They already had a good team and now they also have Cristiano Ronaldo.”

Madrid’s dominance in Europe has made failure even harder to swallow for
Barcelona, whose shock defeat by Roma in April meant crashing out in the
quarter-finals for a third consecutive season.

Even winning both La Liga and the Copa del Rey last term for a domestic
double was not enough to extinguish the disappointment.

“It’s time to win the Champions League,” Messi said. “We’ve been knocked
out in the quarter-finals three seasons in a row and maybe the last one was
the worst of all because of the result and how the match was played.

“I think we have to aim for that, as a club, as a team and as a
collective. We have a spectacular squad and we can do it.”

Ronaldo’s move was the latest example of increasingly lavish spending by
Europe’s biggest clubs, with Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Philippe Coutinho and
Paul Pogba all snapped up for more than 100 million euros over the past two
years.

Messi believes the lure of Barcelona and Real Madrid is now being
neutralised by the mouth-watering sums on offer.

“There are clubs now with a lot of money and players move for that
reason,” he said.

“Wherever the most money is, that’s where they end up going. Things have
changed and now the owners of clubs are multi-millionaires.

“Before, everyone wanted to play for Barca or Madrid, who were the best,
but now everything’s tighter and there’s not much of a difference between the
teams in Manchester, PSG, Madrid, us, Bayern (Munich) and the Italian
(teams).”

Barcelona signed four players this summer, with Arthur Melo, Clement
Lenglet, Arturo Vidal and Malcom all arriving at the Camp Nou.

Messi singled out Arthur, the 22-year-old Brazilian playmaker, for special
praise.

“If I have to say one, I’ll go with Arthur, who surprised me because I did
not know much about him,” Messi said.

“He has a style very similar to Xavi’s, he always wants the ball, does not
lose it, plays short passes and is very reliable.

“He has the style we always look for here.”

BSS/AFP/BZC/1200HRS