Why Ronaldo was right to respond to disrespectful Xavi

The three-time Ballon d'Or winner lashed out at the former Barca midfielder following comments which appeared in the Spanish press but he was perfectly entitled to do so

It was perhaps a little disrespectful that Cristiano Ronaldo brought Xavi Hernandez’s lack of individual accolades into the equation when he responded to the Barcelona legend’s mockery of him at the weekend – but he was provoked into doing so.
“Xavi has not won a single Ballon d’Or and I have won three,” the forward said after making a goalscoring return to the Real Madrid team in the 5-2 defeat of Osasuna in La Liga.

Xavi – being a midfielder – was never going to garner the attention that a forward player would with goals but can otherwise lay claim to being one of the most successful and decorated footballers on the planet.

His interview with Cadena SER was a new insult to which Ronaldo was legitimately entitled to draw attention. "Ronaldo is a player of his time, the problem is that there is another who has been pretty much the best player in history," Xavi said. "Ronaldo is extraordinary, but compared to Messi, for me and for everyone who likes football, there can be no comparisons.
"Messi will be number one until he wants. He's superior to everyone and is the best in the world, unless you are Real Madrid." It was the latest in a string of attacks by the 36-year-old on the Madrid man, a sequence which is not so much building Messi up but pulling Ronaldo down.
“People always want to talk about Cristiano,” Ronaldo's team-mate Marcelo said ahead of tonight's Champions League opener against Sporting. “He always works a lot. For many people he is the best in the world, but many try to take away that merit. He has won three Ballons d’Or and he does a lot for the team. He is a great team-mate and for me he is the best, without doubt.”
Xavi had to clarify in April that his comment about Ronaldo’s perceived “lack of intelligence” was meant only in a football sense. During the summer he boldly declared to Sport that "those of us who knew about football" would pick Messi as the best player of the two.