Xavi: Messi can play until he’s 40

There may be many more years of Lionel Messi at his best to come, as former Barcelona teammate Xavi Hernandez believes he is capable of playing until he is 40.
The Argentine is 31 years old and continues to flirt with international retirement, but Xavi thinks there will still be plenty to come at club level.
“Sometimes I think that he can play until he is 38, 39 or 40. He needs very little to be able to do that”.
“What do you lose as you get older? Your pace? Well he won’t lose his mental speed. Messi is incomparable.”
Such is Xavi’s respect for Messi’s abilities, he believes he could even carve out a role in any other area of the park.
“I think that he would be able to play wherever he wants on the park,” he added.
“He already drifts into the centre of the field and is effective there, as he is at defending too because he is very strong mentally.”