LUCKY TO HAVE WORKED UNDER GUARDIOLA, SAYS LIONEL MESSI

Barcelona captain Lionel Messi said that he was “lucky” to have played under Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique. Messi especially heaped praise on Guardiola, who is currently head coach of Manchester City.

“He makes you see things in one way: how he prepares for matches, defensively, how to attack… he told you exactly how the match was going to be, how you had to attack to win,” Messi told Spanish television channel La Sexta.

“I was lucky to train under Guardiola and Luis Enrique, the two best. Having them made me grow a lot physically and mentally, and also the tactical wisdom they’ve taught me.”

Messi was a mainstay in Guardiola and Enrique’s Barcelona teams that won the Champions League. The team that Guardiola led at the Camp Nou, considered one of the greatest of all time in the history of world football, saw Messi team up with the likes of Xavi and Andres Iniesta and won as many as 14 major titles in five years.

Under Enrique, Messi was part of a lethal front three with Luis Suarez and Neymar and led Barca to the treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League in the 2014/15 season.

Messi has been linked with a move to Manchester City, where he would be reunited with Guardiola, since he expressed a desire to leave Barcelona in the summer.