Dani Alves: You can't speak badly of Messi

"I still think the one untouchable person in football is Leo [Messi] because of what he brings to the game", Dani Alves suggested, before continuing: ""Even if things don't turn out well, Leo's always fine. But this is a team sport and everyone has his responsibility".

Alves, a former teammate of Messi at Barcelona, spotted the irony in the contrasting reactions after the first and second legs of Barcelona's Champions League semi-final against Liverpool: "After the first leg, he was out of this world, an alien - however you want to say it".

"However powerful you are, you can't carry a whole team. I have always said it about Neymar for Brazil and Messi for Argentina, that these players were born different, they were born to make the difference, but not to do the work of the whole team. They need an environment around them which allows them to make the difference. It was an unpleasant surprise for all of us Barcelona fans", the 36 year-old said about Barcelona's shock defeat.

The Brazilian linked Messi's situation with some previous comments of his about Cristiano Ronaldo. "When he got angry with me it was precisely because of that, because I said that he, Leo, Neymar, when things go well, they are the ones on the front page, but when things don't work out, they are also the ones on the front page. Cristiano thought I was talking badly about him, but that wasn't it. I was simply saying that they are people whose actions carry with them a lot of repercussions, for better or for worse," he said.

 

May 6, 2019

Alves also spoke about Barcelona's transfer policy, and believes that the club has changed how it operates in that respect: "They didn't change their style, they signed players for specific positions. Now the feeling is they make too many moves in the market. But I also think that criticism is opportunistic. It's easy to lecture after elimination. You know Barca still like to take care of the ball and make good passes. It doesn't matter who comes in or who leaves, that's their identity.

"Their philosophy on the pitch isn't going to change. But it's changed a little when it comes to the market. That happens in football".