Messi being injured showed us that Barcelona depends on him, more than he depends on Barcelona. A lot of people think that Messi’s success is based on his environment. Some people even say that his whole success is based on players like Iniesta and Xavi.
We’re not saying that Xavi or Iniesta don’t deserve credit for Barcelona’s success. But as we could all see, Messi is still the most valuable player at Barcelona.
Barca is not the same without him, and he will be missed when he retires.
His ability to control the game, and assist others makes him a great player. But his ability to score spectacular solo goals makes him the best ever:
Neymar did a great job operating as a leader, while Messi was injured. But the results are not the same when he’s not playing. Barcelona needed a miracle to turn around the three goal difference against Celta Vigo, but the miracle was injured.
“It’s very different [the team with and without Messi] — one is nothing like the other.”
“We know the importance Leo has for us, but there’s a squad and we have to continue moving forward. But it’s very different playing without Leo — you don’t have to be very smart to know that.” – Rakitic.
The good news is that he’s recovering, and is continuing with training. He will need some time to get back to his recognizable form, but the important thing is that the MSN trio will be complete and ready to compete for CL and La Liga.
Barcelona’s Lionel Messi ‘knows everything’
The news that Messi is retiring from national football shocked the whole world. Even his biggest football rival was feeling sad for his decision.
“Messi has taken a tough decision and people should understand. He is not accustomed to defeats and disappointments, not even finish the second. Missing a penalty does not make you a bad player.”
“It hurts to see Messi in tears and I hope he returns to his country, because he needs it.” – Cristiano Ronaldo.
However, Messi is back now and he is ready to fight for Argentina again. His first mission is to help the national team qualify for the next World Cup.
His new coach had a few good words to say about his best player:
“First we asked him if he would receive us,” Bauza told Sport about his meeting with Messi. “When he accepted, I knew that there would be no problem with him because it was going to be a chat about football.”
“I didn’t go to convince Messi, I was convinced that in the chat a possibility would arise. He received me with Javier Mascherano at the Ciutat Esportiva [Barcelona’s training ground] and after the chat there was nothing more to say other than ‘Boys, you’re called up for the next game.’”
“I reckon he still has a lot to give to the team. He deserves to take his retirement in another way — he deserves to end his international career as a champion.”
“What surprised me is how much he knows about football, because he knows everything, about his teammates, the technical team, about football. He’s aware of everything.”
“I always thought a player of his standing would have to be a player who knew a lot about football. But he surprised me even more than I thought.”
“Leo knows everything about everything. Nothing escapes him. He has a very important understanding and this helps when one has to communicate their idea.”
