Barcelona Chief Laporta: Messi Makes Me Proud

Lionel Messi might not have won the Ballon d'Or but in Barcelona he is still regarded as the best player in the world right now.

The young Argentine scored two brilliant goals against Sevilla at the weekend and he will be hoping for more of the same as Barça face Valencia this Saturday evening.

President of Barcelona, Joan Laporta, told Marca today that having Messi in the side is a source of pride.

"As president of Barcelona it makes me proud to have a player like Messi. He is having a great season and can play to his full potential thanks to the team around him and a coach who knows how to use him," he mused.

"I suppose that [Pep] Guardiola will agree. He told me that what is important is the player has more balance than before when he played less games. We are sure he can improve even more."

Messi might not have been at his brilliant best this season but he has helped Barcelona to climb to the top of La Liga and impress in Europe. Laporta says that he is very pleased with the way things are going but that this weekend will be tough.

"We are doing very well and we are all very happy. I know that the players will do their best and more," he declared.

"Valencia have sufficient players to challenge us and it will be a difficult game. I expect that our players will rise to it though."

The president also couldn't help having a sly dig at his Real Madrid counterpart, Ramón Calderón, who was accused of not caring about his youth players this week.

"In my case, I am very proud of our cantera," he said.

"It is one of the areas that we develop most and feel for. We cannot relax because we know that it is a cantera watched by other teams."

James Walker-Roberts, Goal.com



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