"To be the best you need fitness and intelligence. Cristiano is fit, Messi has both" - Xavi

Xavi Hernández gave an interview to The New Arab in which, amongst other things, he was asked his opinion on the differences between Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo: "I think Messi is the best footballer in the world. In football, there are two important elements: fitness and intelligence. Ronaldo is very fit but Messi has both the fitness as well as the intelligence, so simply put he is better", Xavi told reporter Muhammad Azeem.

With 'El Clásico looming, the former Culé spoke about his best memories of meetings between Barcelona and Real Madrid, including the Catalans big wins over the eternal rivals: "The El Clásico is without a doubt the most exciting match of the season and in the lives of each player. I have lots of great memories, but the two that stick out the most are the historical matches when we beat Real Madrid 5-0 and 6-2".

During his 17 seasons at Barça, Xavi experienced El Clásico many times and played alongside and against some of the great players who have lit up these matches. Among those he faced, two stand out .-  Ronaldo "O Fenómeno" and Zidane: "[I've come up against] lots of players but the ones I can't forget are Ronaldo "the phenomenon", Luis Figo, Raúl, Fernando Hierro, Roberto Carlos, Zidane and in the later years Cristiano Ronaldo, Mesut Özil. However, the best out of all these I would say were Zidane and Ronaldo - the Brazilian".

Xavi also touched on other topics such as his life in Qatar, Luis Enrique continuing the Pep Guardiola philosophy at Barça and the Arab players he admires such as Leicester's Riyad Mahrez, Khalfan Ibrahim and Hassan al-Haidos.

Read the full interview, in English here: