Lionel Messi claims he does not compete with Cristiano Ronaldo, and expects the Real man feels the same

Lionel Messi insists he does not compete with Cristiano Ronaldo, and suspects the Real Madrid man feels the same about him.

Messi, currently out of action for around four weeks with a knee injury, says his rivalry with Ronaldo is created from outside the duo, and that he only concentrates on what is best for Barcelona.

The Argentine has scored six goals this season, with Barca sitting third in La Liga.

Messi lies injured against Las Palmas, and will be out for around another four weeks

In an interview with Guillem Balague on Yahoo.com, Messi said: "These are things that people say. I don't compete with Cristiano and I suppose he would not compete with me.

"What I want is the very best for my teams, and that's what I am working for."

Barcelona won the treble under Luis Enrique last season, but have struggled to hit top gear this term, and have looked short in recent weeks through injuries and a transfer ban until January.

After suffering a knee problem in the 2-1 win over Las Palmas last month, Messi says that although his injury felt like "the worst thing in the world", he is fully concentrated on a 100 per cent recovery.

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"Being injured is the worst feeling in the world for a sportsman," said Messi, "but right from the start, I accepted that I had an injury and that the only thing to do was to recover from it the best way possible.

"The most important thing for me is to be at 100% fitness. I am improving every day without setting myself any targets.

"I have always said that I don't set myself any dates because it isn't up to me. As much as I would like to play tomorrow, the doctors wouldn't let me."