Argentine superstar Lionel Messi has surprised everyone by saying that he feels happy that Cristiano Ronaldo has made it to the World Cup with his Portugal team. Real Madrid star Ronaldo is known to have an intense rivalry with Messi especially after he moved to Spanish football. However, there have been rumours that the pair have rivalry only in professional terms and it does not extend into their personal lives. Messi has tried to prove this by saying that he feels happy for Ronaldo not only making to the World Cup, but also to score so many goals like he has done in the last few years.

Ronaldo scored all the four goals in Portugal’s 4-2 win over Sweden on aggregate. This helped them reach the World Cup finals at the expense of Sweden. Ronaldo scored the only goal of the game in the first leg, while he scored a hat-trick in the second to complete the rout. Messi is currently injured after suffering a hamstring injury a few weeks ago. He is not set to return until the end of 2013, which could effectively sealed his challenge to retain the FIFA Ballon d’Or award end with Ronaldo lifting the trophy.

“I was very happy for him when he scored those goals. It’s just great when the best teams compete in Brazil, and Cristiano has had a great scoring rate for many years now. He plays at an outstanding level. I don’t know if this is Cristiano’s best moment, but he is always there, scoring goals in all the games and playing his part for his club and his country,” said Barcelona superstar Messi, who has been the best player over the last four years.

Messi is already 21 goals behind Ronaldo in 2013, which could be a massive factor in the voting for the Ballon d’Or awards.