PSG’s Thiago Silva would rather face Cristiano Ronaldo than Lionel Messi

Real Madrid's struggling superstar Cristiano Ronaldo does not strike fear into the heart of Paris Saint-Germain captain Thiago Silva.

The Brazil international has admitted that he is happy to be facing Ronaldo and not Barcelona's Lionel Messi in the Champions League round of 16 first leg next week.

Speaking after PSG's 3-0 win away at Lille in Ligue 1 on Saturday, Silva explained that he finds Ronaldo easier to defend against than Messi — notably because the Argentina international is extremely tricky in one-on-one or two-on-one situations.

'The small difference is that Messi, with the ball in a one-on-one or a two-on-one, is difficult to stop,' Silva told reporters after the game. 'With Ronaldo, I am not saying that it is easy, but one player can mark and the other can monitor — doing that gives you more security at the back.

'However, Messi and Ronaldo are both players capable of incredible things — like Neymar. I believe, though, that it is harder to defend against Messi than it is against Ronaldo.'

Silva and his PSG teammates are away at Ligue 2 side Sochaux in the Coupe de France round of 16 on Tuesday.

They will have to make do without Neymar, who has been left at home to rest ahead of the first leg against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu next week and after his lavish 26th birthday celebrations last weekend.

Source: www.espnfc.com