Ronaldo sees himself in the same group as Messi and Maradona

Ronaldo Nazario

believes that he should be recognized like

Lionel Messi

and

Diego Maradona

as part of a “very special group” of the greatest footballers ever. Ronaldo helped Brazil win the 2002 World Cup as he met the target eight times under the reign of Luiz Felipe Scolari.

None of the other Brazilian players have been able to better his tally over the years, while Germany’s Miroslav Klose was able to beat his 15 World Cup goals by 16. Although he thinks his exploits make him deserving of being among the footballing greats, when speaking to the Guardian, he said comparing his abilities with the ones from other generations is not an easy task.

Quizzed to pick between Lionel Messi and Maradona, he said: "

That's unfair! 

"I think there is a very, very special group where you have Diego, Messi, [Johan] Cruyff, [Franz] Beckenbauer, Pele, [Marco] Van Basten, Ronaldinho. I would include myself. 

"Let the fans say, let them debate it in the bars. But you can't rank them, can't compare generations. 

"People call me the 'original' Ronaldo but there were others – and they weren't false. 

"I'm not the only one, and more will come along and be better than me in everything. I did what I could, the best I could."

Neymar’s form will mostly determine how the World Cup 2022 will go for Brazil. Ronaldo drew comparisons between the Paris Saint-Germain striker and those of Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi.

"People love him a lot,"

Ronaldo added of Neymar.

"If we talk specifically about football, I doubt there's anyone who doesn't love him. His private life transcends football, but I'm not interested. 

"He's daring, has skill, variety, is quick, scores goals, has personality. You could compare him to Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, even though they are from a different planet. 

"On the pitch Neymar is one [thing], then people mix in all the other stuff."

Follow

for the