Fernando Gago has upped the ante on Cristiano Ronaldo by claiming that Lionel Messi is a better player than the Portuguese.

While openly expressing his admiration for Ronaldo, Gago believes that his compatriot holds the title as the world’s number one.

"For me he (Ronaldo) is not number one. For me, the best in the world is Messi because of the way he plays, moves with the ball and changes matches," he explained.

"Messi has incredible ability and I love the way that he plays."

The pursuit of Ronaldo by Madrid has not been met with positivity by everyone with Wesley Sneijder believing that his huge wages may cause a dressing room rift, but Gago thinks otherwise.

"He is a very good player and it is logical that Real Madrid would want him because all the big sides are interested. I do not know if he will come here, but if he does he will be made very welcome," he continued.

"If Cristiano joins Madrid and has a big contract then it will be because he deserves it and he should be congratulated, but on the pitch he will be just another player and will have to put in the same effort as everyone else.

"This is a team here and everyone has to be at their best in order for us to succeed."

Rafael Van der Vaart is also said to be attracting much interest from the Los Merengues and Gago is confident that the club’s tracking of the Hamburg skipper is tantamount to the Dutchman being a player of Real’s calibre.

"I have not seen much of him, but he seems to have class. If Real Madrid want to sign him then it will be for a reason," he stated.

"One must remember that this team is solid and next year we have to be even more competitive because we are aiming for every trophy."

By espnstar.com