Lionel Messi had long become synonymous with Barcelona, hence the phrase ‘Messi FC’ had become popular with rival fans insinuating at the Barca talisman’s dominance at Camp Nou.
There’s no dishonor with the six-time Ballon d’Or winner’s undisputed link with the success of the club and being the standout performer for the Blaugrana.
The facts speak clearly for themselves. In his 769 appearances for Barcelona, Messi has scored no fewer than 179 match-winning goals. This season alone he’s 18 goals clear of their next highest goalscorer, Antoine Griezmann, with 28 strikes to the Frenchman’s 10.
So while Messi’s form in 2021 has been sensational and ultimately, something to be celebrated, it’s easy to see why the burden has sometimes appeared a little heavy on the Argentine’s shoulders.
The stakes are huge with the pressure building up now for Barca’s rivals, especially for Real Madrid in the El Clasico returning for its latest instalment on Saturday night. Atletico Madrid won’t be playing until the following day, so Barcelona can go top with a win. A loss could see the Los Blancos usurping the Blaugrana in second place.
Understandably the mind games are already underway and Los Blancos’ Karim Benzema has taken the opportunity to have a dig at their arch rivals as he began previewing this weekend’s match.
In an interview with LaLiga quoted by AS, Benzema admitted he and his teammates will be treating it like a final – and also gave some thoughts on Messi.
“They always have possession, they have a good goalkeeper and Messi, the player who does everything for Barcelona,” he said.
“We have to be careful because he is very dangerous.”
Messi’s teammates might take offence to the suggestion that he “does everything for Barcelona”, yet who can really argue with that?
“For me, the Clásico is the best game in the world and not only for me, for everyone, because it involves two teams that have a lot of history and it is always a very important game,” Benzema added.
“As always, it will be a difficult game against a team that likes to have the ball. We also like to have it. It will be played in the middle and like in in the first game this season, we will come on the field to win because for us it is a final.”