Pep wants Messi to finish career with Barca

Barcelona have been accused of being too dependent on Lionel Messi in recent weeks, but he hit back at the idea his side struggle to be at their best without him.

Opta, which has records dating back to the 2003-04 season, confirmed Neymar’s feat when the 24-year-old fed Lionel Messi in the box for the Argentina worldwide to score in the 24th minute.

“Hopefully that will be in the highlights reel come the end of my career”, Gordon said. “That is my wish”.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has quashed speculation that he could link up with former Barcelona charge Lionel Messi ahead of his side’s Premier League clash against Burnley on Saturday. They will secure qualification for the last 16 with a game to spare with a win in Glasgow or with any result if Borussia Monchengladbach fail to beat City.

The 7-0 loss at the Nou Camp was Celtic’s record European defeat.

City are now standing third in the Premier League, and the Spanish manager felt that every club, at the moment, holds equal opportunity to compete for a title challenge.

“We are where we want to be, in the next round of the Champions League”, Guardiola said.

“We have played three of the best teams in Europe over the course of this competition so far and we have gradually got better in each game, so the challenge is after Christmas we’ve got to keep the demand”.

“First and foremost the challenge was to get into the Champions League”, he said.

“Years ago, in my first years at Barcelona, qualifying for the next round looked a little bit easier than now”. In the future it is going to happen that the big, big teams are not going to qualify. He proudly commended the way the team handled the match and focused on the invaluable aspect of the match.

“Anoeta is a complicated stadium where we haven’t won in years”, Messi added.

That the claim was made in Madrid-based newspaper Marca made some wary, and sources closer to Barca have suggested he will open contract talks, as planned, in the New Year, but City will have been keeping firmly abreast of the situation, as they always have done. “You go through tough spells but in the end, you realise there are more important things than football, than winning and lifting titles”.

Both teams have 11 points but PSG is top, after scoring more away goals in their two meetings.

“We will know then exactly his condition and the condition of the other players”.