MESSI BACKS INIESTA

The Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi has praised midfielder Andres Iniesta by saying that he is extremely lucky to be playing alongside the Spanish midfielder. Iniesta recently came close to winning the FIFA Ballon d’Or award only to be pipped by his teammate Messi, who won the award for the fourth consecutive season. Iniesta not only had a great season domestically with Barcelona, but he was also extremely influential with the Spanish national team as well. Even though he could not win major titles with Barcelona last season, he managed to win the Euro 2012 with Spain.

This consequently named him as one of the three players shortlisted for the FIFA Ballon d’Or award. The Real Madrid attacker Cristiano Ronaldo was the other name on the list. Even though he did not win the award, Messi has praised him by saying that it is a great privilege to be playing alongside him. Messi and Iniesta have known each other since the youth team days. Iniesta is regarded as one of the important cogs of the Barcelona team alongside Xavi and Messi. He has been largely responsible for the 14 trophies lifted by the Barcelona team during the regime of Guardiola.

“Andres does everything well. He’s getting better and better as the years go by – he’s won it all and I’m extremely lucky to play alongside him. I enjoy watching what he does on the pitch, whether in matches or in training sessions – he’s a joy to behold,” said Messi in a recent interview given to Revista Barca. The 28-year-old Iniesta has made 17 appearances for the team this season. Due to the fact that he has been playing out wide, he has been unable to replicate the goalscoring form of previous seasons and has managed just two goals so far this campaign.