Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde has stated that a comment he made which suggested that Lionel Messi was better than Cristiano Ronaldo was "a joke".
The 19-year-old, who is currently on loan at Deportivo La Coruna, attended an event for young fans of the Galician club during the international break.
When asked by a young supporter about who he thought was the best player in the world, Valverde replied: "[Ronaldo and Messi] are the two best players in the world, but I opt for Messi."
Given the furore which such a statement would cause, the Uruguayan subsequently posted a video to social media, which has since been deleted, contradicting his earlier claim.
"I wanted to clarify a misunderstanding that occurred today on campus, with the children in an interview," Valverde is quoted by the Daily Record as saying.
"It was a joke about Messi and Ronaldo because he knows that I am from Madrid and I always bet or fight for Cristiano because he is the best player in the world, it shows every day, match by match.
"I wanted to clarify that and if I had felt a fanaticism for Messi I would never have signed for Real Madrid, I wanted to clarify that and make it clear that they are the two best players in the world, but I will always be on the side of Cristiano Ronaldo."
Barcelona's Messi and Real's Ronaldo have been awarded the Ballon d'Or 10 times between them and have prevented anyone else from winning the trophy for the past decade.
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