Barcelona star snubs Lionel Messi from dream XI of players he played with for club and country
Lionel Messi is arguably the greatest player ever to pull on a Barcelona jersey in the rich history of the club. Unfortunately, their love affair ended last year when the Catalan club parted ways with the great talisman after 16 years of stellar contributions to the senior team.
Most players who have shared the dressing room with Lionel Messi are well aware of his individual brilliance and footballing genius. However, current Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen has a different opinion about his former teammate.
The Argentine is widely considered among the greatest footballers of all-time, if not the greatest. But that was not enough to earn him a mention in the German shot-stopper's Dream XI, composed of club and national teammates he has played with. He has been at Camp Nou for almost eight years now and has been part of the German national setup for almost a decade.
twitter.com/ESPNFC/status/…
Even Ter Stegen knows Messi is Overrated, sick of Messi always bottling the ucl and now had enough😂 twitter.com/ESPNFC/status/…
His best XI is loaded with current and former Barcelona teammates, with a back-four featuring Dani Alves, Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba with the only exception of Antonio Rudiger. Lionel Messi's absence wasn't the only shocker though.
Between the sticks, ter-Stegen chose his former Borussia Monchengladbach teammate Janis Blaswich over Bayern Munich legend Manuel Neuer. Blaswich currently plays for Eredevisie side Heracles. The least surprising of his picks came in midfield, with the Germany international opting for the famed trio of Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets.
However, it is the attacking department where the goalkeeper has left the fans scratching their heads. Not only did he snub Lionel Messi, but also decided against picking Luis Suarez and Neymar Jr. from the formidable 'MSN' which led Barcelona to their 2015 Champions League triumph.
Instead, he opted for midfielder Frenkie De Jong in an advanced role alongside German teammates Marco Reus and Mario Gotze to complete his Dream XI. The Argentina international and his former Barcelona teammate were not great buddies off the pitch and did not really get along very well.
ter Stegen posted a farewell message on social media for Lionel Messi after he switched outfits and joined Paris Saint-Germain last year. He wrote:
"Although from time to time we did not share the same opinion, we always went in the same direction and each of us grew as a person regardless of winning or losing."
Could Lionel Messi make a dramatic return to Barcelona?
The record seven-time Ballon d'Or winner has struggled to replicate his prolific tally in France. He has only managed to score only 2 goals in 18 Ligue 1 appearances, although he does boast an impressive 11 assists. However, he has largely failed to create an impact and transform PSG into an even more formidable force as was expected.
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Former Barcelona player Xavi is now in charge of the proceedings at the Catalan club and has opened the door to a return for Lionel Messi. Xavi's side registered a dominant 4-0 win against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu. Before the game, the Spaniard welcomed the idea of the Argentine's return to Camp Nou.
Xavi said in the pre-match press conference,
"Messi has earned having the doors open to Barca. As long as I'm the coach here, if he wants to come every day to watch training or talk to the coach, what he's given us is priceless."
The former Barcelona No.10 signed a two-year deal with PSG last summer. With Kylian Mbappe's exit looking highly likely, it remains to be seen whether PSG will allow Lionel Messi to leave as well.