OMNISPORT 

Barcelona star Lionel Messi has reiterated that he does not care about comparisons with Cristiano Ronaldo or any other players as he is only focused on his own performances.

The Argentina international's achievements are often contrasted to those of the Real Madrid star, but Messi remains unperturbed by such talk and says he is only thinking about helping his team to success.

"The press is always looking for comparisons and those kinds of things," the 28-year-old told MBC. "The only thing I care about is helping my team and to keep on improving each season.

"I am not comparing myself to Cristiano Ronaldo or to anyone else. I am only thinking about myself and my teammates and winning games."

Barcelona takes on Real Madrid in the first game after the international break and Messi expects a tight Clasico at Camp Nou, despite his side's 10-point advantage over its rival.

"Real Madrid have some great players. They have always had some impressive stars and are one of the best teams in the world," he added. "They are always a complicated rival for Barcelona. They always make life difficult for us in the race for the Liga title. There is a lot of competition and we always try to do better than them."