Former Manchester United and Manchester City star Carlos Tevez has claimed that there is one key difference between his former domestic teammate, Cristiano Ronaldo, and his compatriot, Lionel Messi.
The 33-year-old, who rejoined Boca Juniors earlier this month after spending a year in the Chinese Super League, believes that Ronaldo has had to "prepare himself" to become one of the best players in the world, while Messi is just naturally gifted.
"Cristiano is totally different to Messi," Tevez told ESPN Argentina. "When Leo was starting out, he didn't touch a gym. But Cristiano was there in the morning, afternoon and evening, all the time.
"Cristiano had to work and prepare himself to be the best, while for Leo it comes naturally.
"Those are the greatest differences that I see between the two best players on the planet," he continued. "Messi plays another sport.
"For Messi to score three goals [in any given game] is normal."
Despite only just returning to Argentina, Tevez has already made his first appearance back at La Bombonera. The former Man Utd striker started just behind Cristian Pavón and Walter Bou in Boca's league game against Club Atlético Colón.
In a 2-0 victory that saw rumoured Arsenal transfer target Pavón score after just three minutes, Tevez claimed an assist that allowed Uruguayan midfielder Nahitan Nández to find the back of the net in the second-half.