The former Basel man insists people are jealous of the Real Madrid superstar, who he feels has already proven himself superior to his Barcelona rival by excelling in England
Ronaldo currently holds the individual prize, which he first won in 2008, and is the favourite to win this year’s gong after inspiring Real Madrid to Champions League glory in May.
The 29-year-old has also been widely lauded for his
remarkable goalscoring exploits this season, but Varela, who spent most of his professional career in Switzerland, insists that Ronaldo does not get all of the credit he deserves.
“I do not understand how anyone could criticise him,” the former Basel midfielder told AS ahead of Madrid’s
Champions League clash with the Swiss champions at St. Jakob Park on Wednesday night. “I think his image has a [negative] effect.
“People are jealous and envious of him. If he were ugly, they would have treated him better.
“He should have won more than two Ballon d’Or awards.
Messi is not even half the player that Ronaldo is. “Messi has not shown the world what he can do another club, unlike Ronaldo, who has already proven himself at Manchester United.”
Ronaldo won the Champions League with United in 2008 before leaving for Madrid the following year.
The Madeira native has since scored 277 goals in 264
games for los Blancos but he is continually compared to four-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi, who became La Liga and the Champions League’s all-time record goalscorer over the past four days.
