'I didn't want Cristiano Ronaldo to leave Real Madrid, he gave a plus to the rivalry' - Lionel Messi says

The 2019 FIFA Men’s Best player of the year, Lionel Messi, in a wide ranging interview has revealed he wished his rival, Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t leave Real Madrid, as his presence at the club added more spice to the El Classico derby and La Liga.

Messi, who has been at Barcelona since the age of 12 has seen his rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo very well pronounced in the last decade, but Ronaldo in the summer of 2018, left Real Madrid to join Juventus after winning the UEFA Champions League four times with the Spanish club.

But Messi insists Real Madrid will still remain a big club even though they miss Ronaldo.

“I wanted him to continue with Real Madrid,” Messi told RAC 1″.

“He gave a plus to the rivalry in the Clasico and La Liga.

“Real Madrid will continue to challenge because they have very good players, but I already said that the team was going to feel his loss for what he meant and that the squad would notice. But they have plenty of players to allow them to fight for every title and they have a lot of history.”

Barcelona exited the champions league at the semifinal stage last season after failing to beat Liverpool in the second leg, losing 4-0 in Anfield and Messi says he regrets that match, while also revealing he isn’t too concerned about winning a record 6th Ballon D’or award.

“The Liverpool thing was our fault,” he said, . “It came after the Roma incident. We got a mental block as the Rome defeat came to mind.”

“We got worse and worse and it wasn’t because of the coach.

“It wouldn’t be a disappointment not to win it (ballon d’or),” he said. “These awards are nice recognition, but for me they were never a priority, I would be more disappointed to spend another year without winning the Champions League – it’s been five years since we’ve done it.”