“I don’t believe we’ll ever see a player like Messi again,” predicts Xavi Hernández, former Barcelona player and coach, who points to Neymar as the only one who has come close to the Argentine international.
Xavi Hernández gave an extensive interview to Romário this Saturday on his own YouTube channel, titled ‘Romário TV’, in which he ‘opened up’ about various topics, starting with the long seasons during which he had the opportunity to share a locker room with Lionel Messi at Barcelona.
“I hope I’m wrong, but I don’t believe we’ll ever see a player like Messi again. I played with him for 15 years, and he was better at everything. He was better technically and physically, in his understanding of the game… Even his headers were good, or his shots with his weaker foot. Mentally, he was also a competitive animal,” he began by stating.
“He’s an invincible player, a phenomenon. It was easy to play with him. You’d pass him the ball, and he’d do everything better. He makes you look better (…). I remember when I was on the Ballon d’Or podium with [Andrés] Iniesta and Messi. I felt relieved when it was announced that the winner was Messi; he was a much better player than me,” he continued.
“There’s no comparison, no debate. It was fair, the best player won. I was a team player. In that award, they were choosing the player who made the biggest difference, individually, which is why I never felt like they took a Ballon d’Or away from me,” concluded the now 46-year-old coach.
Xavi Hernández also revealed the only player he believes could have ‘caught up’ with the now Inter Miami star: “What I saw of Neymar during his first week with us is the closest I’ve seen to Messi. I haven’t seen any player as close to Messi as Neymar was when he arrived at Barcelona at 21 years old.”
“The Barcelona president said no to Messi”
In the same interview, Xavi Hernández lamented that Barcelona failed to bring Lionel Messi back after he left for Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer in the summer of 2023: “I tried, but that wasn’t possible. We talked for five months, and everything was prepared, but in the end, the president [Joan Laporta] said no.”
