Lionel Messi says he's not competing with Cristiano Ronaldo
As Barcelona forward Lionel Messi gets closer to the Spanish league goalscoring record, he says he is not competing with Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo.
Messi has 248 career goals, three behind Telmo Zarra. Messi can equal or break the record against Rayo Vallecano on Saturday.
Messi is a three-time winner of the Ballon d'Or and one-time winner of the FIFA World Player of the Year. Ronaldo has won each award once.
"I just concentrate on playing my game, doing my work," Messi said, according to the BBC. “I’m not interested in competition with Cristiano. Individual prizes are the least important thing in football."
The two players respective countries, Argentina and Portugal, will play a friendly in Manchester, England, on Nov. 18.
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"It would be very nice to become the leading scorer in such a special and important league," he said. "I don't know what my place in the history of the game will be. I'm just focused on improving and winning more."
Through six matches in the Spanish League, Barcelona leads the standings with 16 points, two more than Valencia.
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