Ronaldo is better than Messi - Simeone

Atletico Madrid's Argentinean manager Diego Simeone believes that Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo is better than Lionel Messi after Argentina were beaten 3-0 by Croatia at the World Cup on Thursday.

Argentina failed to beat Iceland in their opening game of the tournament and things got worse for them when they were defeated 3-0 by Croatia, with Messi failing to spark in both games.

The Messi and Ronaldo comparisons have intensified in Russia, but while Ronaldo has scored all four of Portugal's goals in their first two games at the tournament, Messi missed a potentially game-winning penalty against Iceland and has struggled to have an impact so far.

Simeone discussed the differences between the two players' tournaments over a leaked Whatsapp audio message.

"Messi is very good but he is very good because he is accompanied by extraordinary players", Simeone said according to The Mirror.

"But if you had to choose between Messi and Ronaldo for a normal team, who would you choose?

Sampaoli's choices

Simeone also criticised the choices made by current boss Sampaoli, including the managers choice of formation and tactics.

"What we saw against Croatia is the picture of what has happened over the past four years," said Simeone.

"I do not see anyone leading. There is no leadership, either from the coach, who should be leading, or the players, who should be led. I see that the team is lost.

"It is clear that in the dressing room players are holding on to fists but in these situations, you need someone to fight.

"We all say the players are the most important part of the game and the coach usually play it down when players mess it up, but the Coach is also participating in this."

Simeone added: "He picked the wrong team and tactics, too," he continued. "He should have started against Iceland, the weaker team, in the way he played against Croatia, because they are a much weaker team.

"And the other way round - the way he played against Iceland was how he should have played against Croatia

"When the coaches screw up, it's worse than when the players s*** it. So it has to be down to the coach. It's on him."