- says nothing new about Messi
“Whatever is said about Leo Messi, there’s nothing new,” said Roberto Martínez, the Belgium manager who led The Red Devils to a third-place finish at last summer’s World Cup. Nevertheless, the Catalan coach, who hails from the town of Balaguer in Lleida, tried to buck the trend.
“[Messi] is a player you can really enjoy,” Martínez continued. “When he is out on the field, and he’s at a level like the one he showed in England, that’s something everyone can appreciate.”
Martínez spoke to FC Barcelona while in Belgium for the futsal Champions League, in which Barça Lassa is taking part. Here are the highlights of what else he had to say:
On Ernesto Valverde:
“We all know that Ernesto Valverde brought common sense with him last season, which was very interesting.”
On Barça:
“Winning the league and the Copa Del Rey is not easy, and I think in the last game against Tottenham at Wembley we saw a beautiful version of FC Barcelona, which I think we will continue to see, with a very positive and winning character, for the rest of the season.”
On the UEFA Champions League:
“Barça, as well as other teams, are candidates to win it all. There aren’t too many teams around the world that are built to win it. They hope to compete for everything, and that doesn’t change with one good or a bad match.”
“Every year the Champions League competition gets more and more difficult. It’s very difficult to find a team to win three years in a row, but this year it’s pretty balanced, and I think we will see one of the best competitions we’ve seen in recent years.”