LONDON - Barcelona winger Lionel Messi believes that he and Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney have one thing in common, both of them are passionate about the game.

Messi admires this quality in Rooney, and said: “You can see the love and passion for the game in Rooney’s face and I have a feeling he is one of those players who would play for 100 pound a week because football is in his blood. When he loses it hurts and those are the sort of players you want to be playing with,”

Messi further said that Rooney is under lot of pressure after Cristiano Ronaldo left the club at the beginning of the season, but reckons that Rooney is a kind of player who can tackle the responsibilities.

“I can understand the pressure on him, but to be honest from what I have seen Rooney is the sort of player that would thrive playing under pressure,” The News of the World quoted Messi, as saying.

The 22-year-old also played down the personal duel that were reported between him and Ronaldo, and praised the Real Madrid winger for the manner in which he is emerging as a player in the international level.

“A lot of talk before the Champions League final was made of myself and Ronaldo, but it was not right because the game was about so much more than us. I did say though that Ronaldo is an unbelievable player and is a player I would pay money to watch,” Messi said.

“He will do well whatever league he is in and whatever team he plays for - everybody over the last few years has seen how good he is. It is obvious to everybody he is special,” he added. (ANI)