'We're not quite as surprised by it all'- Barcelona star hails Lionel Messi and reveals their best game under Pep Guardiola
What's the story?
Barcelona midfielder, Sergio Busquets, hailed teammate Lionel Messi and has revealed the Blaugrana's best performance under Pep Guardiola.
In case you didn't know...
Lionel Messi is enjoying another historic campaign in his glittering career. The Argentine genius continues to dominate European top five leagues in an unprecedented manner, taking the Catalan side towards another historic treble.
The Blaugrana are top of the La Liga table with an 11-point lead over second-placed Atletico Madrid and are in the finals of the Copa Del Rey. Barcelona did not manage to feature in Champions League semifinal during the last three years and will be wary of the threat of Manchester United in the quarterfinals this time around.
The 31-year-old has scored 43 goals in all competitions; 33 of them came in the La Liga and 8 of them in the UEFA Champions League - which makes him the leading scorer in both of these competitions. Messi is also one of the leading assist providers with 21 assists in all competition this season.
Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola won 14 trophies with the Catalan giants in his 4 year tenure as the manager of the club.
The heart of the matter
Sergio Busquets heaped praise on Lionel Messi, claiming that Messi's genius doesn't even surprise him anymore.
Speaking in an interview, according to an update shared by AS on Twitter, Busquets said:
"We have the good fortune to train with him every day,"
"I've spent the last 11 years with him, so you get that greater concentration of him doing these things."
"We're not quite as surprised by it all. There isn't a goal he's scored on the pitch that we haven't seen in training and he's also repeating goals he has scored in previous seasons. He is unique."
On his best performance under Pep Guardiola, the Spaniard said:
"It was the best performance in the Pep Guardiola era," Busquets said about the 2011 Champions League final.
"It was the pinnacle of everything we were achieving at the time."
"It was a period when our success seemed at its most emphatic and that game was the perfect demonstration. The idea of how we wanted to play and our superiority on the pitch was clear. It was the ultimate high point."
What's next?
Barcelona will face Manchester United in the quarterfinals of the Champions League at Old Trafford.