Barcelona great Xavi Hernandez has laughed off suggestions that Lionel Messi plays like him, and insisted that the Argentine superstar is his own man.
Speaking to Spanish source La Vanguardia [as per AS], the deep-lying playmaker—who spent many years playing alongside the South American great—noted that he finds it amusing when people compare him to Messi.
“Messi plays like Xavi?” the midfielder began. “What a load of bollocks, Messi plays like Messi.
“He does whatever he wants.”
The midfielder’s comments came only a day after Villarreal coach Marcelino questioned whether the 28-year-old truly was the greatest player in the history of the game, or whether he had to win the World Cup to truly eclipse Diego Maradona as the finest exponent of the sport.
Xavi certainly has no doubt that Messi is the best player the game will ever see.
Continuing in his discourse with La Vanguardia, Xavi said that he had no doubt that Messi was already the game’s finest player of all time.
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“He is the best in history,” the deep-lying playmaker began. “He doesn’t have to win a World Cup to prove it.
“Di Stefano and Cruyff didn’t win it either.”