Cristiano Ronaldo is extraordinary, for all goals he offers and Messi has recovered his "scoring spark," the intensity and a motivation point. To me, Messi is super special, Ronaldo too, but at another level, a bit lower," said Nadal in statements to the press.

Nadal was a player for Barcelona between 1991 and 1999.

Nadal gave his point of view about the classic match Barcelona will hold versus Real Madrid, to be disputed on Saturday at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

"It is a complicated match because the two teams are in a good shape, a good moment. Madrid has recovered from a bad start and it seems an attractive match and no doubt, it is not decisive because we are in the first round," said Nadal, who predicts there will be a lot of goals.

According to the Spanish former player because of the speed of the Real Madrid and the fierce attack by Barcelona in its game "there may be several goals".

Nadal also spoke about Uruguayan Luis Suarez Barcelona, which could make his debut this weekend, once he fulfilled his penalty of four months.

"Suarez is a great player and it is important that they come out the best. If you're on the field you'd like to compete against the best," added the former player.

For Nadal, a 2-2 would be a good result for the "classic", because the match would have "goals, excitement and Barcelona would be able to get one more point in the ranking". (KH)