'Ronaldo is only more successful because he is better looking than Messi'

In relation to his favourites to win the World Cup, the former Russia player said: ''With Messi, any team can win.'' Mostovoi put Argentine below Spain in his rankings, but included them for the quality of the Barcelona forward. 

He went one further with his compliments to the Argentine star, saying: ''For me, Messi is the best player in history, and I also played against Maradona, but we eliminated him with Spartak Moscow in the European Cup.''

With regard to the media-hyped rivalry between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, Mostovi was even more direct and shared his view that the Portuguese is only considered better than Messi, because he is the more handsome of the pair.

Mostovi said: ''Cristiano is also great, but Messi is better and he does more things. Ronaldo is only more successful because he is better looking than Messi.''