Okocha: Ronaldo is unfortunate to be of the same generation as Messi

.Nigerian legend chooses Messi over Ronaldo  

Nigerian international Austin 'Jay-Jay' Okocha has said that Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo is unfortunate to be of the same generation as Barcelona forward Lionel Messi, Sportinglens.blogspot.com reports.

The former Super Eagles midfielder stated this in an interview with FIFA's official website when he was making his choice between Messi and Ronaldo.

The former Paris St-Germain superstar said: "I have to be diplomatic here, especially as I’ve a lot of Portuguese friends, but I tend to lean towards Messi. He’s a more natural talent. Ronaldo is a fantastic player, one of the best I’ve ever seen, but he’s been a bit unfortunate to be of the same generation as Messi. Consequently, they have to share the limelight."

The Nigerian noted that the player who he most resembles currently is Paris St-Germain's record signing, Neymar.

The former Bolton Wanderers playmaker explained his reasoning, saying "I’d say the player whose style most resembles mine would be Neymar. That’s because I played with a sense of joy and you can see that he feels the same and really enjoys his own play. He doesn’t play for himself or just to entertain the fans – he plays for his team. He uses his quality and skill for the good of the team."

The Nigerian believes Neymar will soon be the best in the world, saying ""Messi and Ronaldo have dominated world football for a decade and, given the nature of football, at a certain point the baton will have to pass to someone else. I think Neymar has a great chance of filling that role."