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In an interview with El Pais, leading off to yet another Clasico week, Lionel Messi spoke a little bit about, well, everything from Barcelona to Real Madrid, Jose Mourinho and even taking possible little jabs at Cristiano Ronaldo, to set the mood right for the biggest club match in Spain and the world.

Bottom line? Messi said he wants to be remembered for the person he is, less for the player. He wants his friends and teammates to remember him as a great one to play with. When asked about being “boring”, Messi said that he says what’s on his mind, but he doesn’t feel there’s any need to say things that will stir up controversy and conflicts within the team or with others. There’s no need to say bad things about people I don’t know very well. 

Ronaldo criticism or just saying what’s on his heart? It’s not a huge secret that two aren’t exactly best of friends. If the cooler than ice hand shakes aren’t enough of a reminder, came the complete ignoring sequence after the second leg in the 2012 Supercoppa, with Real Madrid ending up with the trophy.

One of the special things about this rivalry as that they both, on the surface, represent two very different personalities and style of play. Messi, despite all the incredible individual skill, is a very team-blending player, or seems to be that way most of the time. Ronaldo is a soloist, who’d probably thrive with much weaker squads than what Real or Barcelona have. He doesn’t make players around him better. He’s out there to score and be himself – great, arrogant, special.