A 2014 FIFA World Cup winner has discussed why he feels it is more difficult to face FC Barcelona's Lionel Messi than it is to come up against Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo.

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Arsenal and Germany defender Shkodran Mustafi recently revealed that Messi is the best player he has ever gone up against, suggesting that the Argentine has more to his game than his long-time Ballon d'Or rival Ronaldo.

"Lionel Messi was my hardest opponent," he told Bild.

"I played him three times with Valencia. You cannot predict him, he is small and very quick, changes his direction quite often.

"When he runs towards three opponents, you can nearly be sure that he breaks through. Ronaldo is more of a striker in the box.

"Messi can also play good passes and make his teammates stronger. For me, he is the best player in the world."

Mustafi made three appearances for Germany at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, but missed the quarter-finals, the semi-finals and the final against Argentina due to injury.

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While the German centre-back was left out of Joachim Low's 2018 World Cup squad, Messi and Ronaldo will be in action at the tournament for their respective countries.

Who do you think will have the better World Cup, Messi  Ronaldo? Let us know in the comments section below.