Former Arsenal forward Thierry Henry believes that Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi is better than Cristiano Ronaldo, while also saying that Luis Suarez is the best striker in the world today.

In an interview with Rio Ferdinand's #5 Magazine, Henry said that Messi's natural talent made him the better player to watch. The 36-year-old forward said that Ronaldo is also one of the best players in the world, but the Real Madrid star reached the top through hardwork, compared to Messi's natural gift.

"Lionel Messi is the best player in the world but I respect the amount of work Cristiano Ronaldo has put into the game," Henry said. "But Messi is just a freak. It is nice for kids to watch as they can see one guy who was given a gift and the other guy who does it through hard work. Louis Saha used to tell me he was the hardest worker at Manchester United. I am not saying Messi does not work hard - but it is more natural."

Henry, who is the current team captain of the New York Red Bulls of the Major League Soccer, also added that Suarez is the best striker in the world today despite all the controversy the Portugal international has been through in his entire career.

"If we are talking about strikers - not guys who score a lot of goals from anywhere - then I would say the best in the world is Luis Suarez," Henry said.

Suarez, who recently moved to Barcelona from Liverpool, made headlines recently after he was slapped a four-game ban and nine international matches after biting Italy's Giorgio Chiellini in a World Cup 2014 match.

Henry said that Suarez, who scored two goals in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, is worth spending for despite his behavioral issues, saying that the 27-year-old striker knows how to score goals from different angles in different ways.

"He has everything. He's in your face, he's arrogant in a good way, he can volley it, he can score headers," Henry said. "He has that vicious side to his game. I will not call it cheating. He knows how to score goals. We have seen it against England. They gave him two chances and he scored two goals."