"I'd like Cristiano to have stayed in Madrid"

He had good things to say about Cristiano Ronaldo: "I'd like Cristiano to have stayed in the Spanish league, in Real Madrid. I remember saying that his departure would be felt, any team would feel it. But they have their fair share of players to reach the top regardless," said the Argentine. 

One of the reasons for the interview was the Cirque du Soleil show: "It all seemed very strange when everything started. It was something incredible. It's not normal to do these things when a person is still present. It's usually done as a tribute to recognition. I saw parts, ideas that were shown to me but I didn't want to see the end. They were very clear when they began to prepare everything. It's not all based on my life."

"I'm not worried, but I don't like to be called God. It's very exaggerated to be called that, I'm a very private person, I'm not a talker, but I rely a lot on my family, on my friends. I handled the pressure naturally. The most important thing was to enjoy football without thinking about what it means to be a professional," he said.

One of the most difficult moments in Leo Messi's career was when he had problems with the Treasury. "It was hard for everything that was happening at the time. My kids didn't know anything, but we had a really bad time," he explained about the tax fraud charges. "When that happened, I thought about leaving. I thought I was being badly treated. Everyone knew of my desire to continue in Barcelona, but the decision went beyond that", he added.

However, those plans have since been put off, as Messi is happy in Barcelona and is not thinking about leaving: "Today my idea and that of my family is to end here. There's still no renovation. I never had any problems with the club, everything has always been very simple. There won't be any problems with that either."

"It's becoming increasingly clear that my idea is to finish my career here, especially for ours, for how I feel in the club, but also for the family, for the children. We value that too," the Argentinian said of his future. "Our idea is to stay here," he added.

But Messi was not always so keen on staying in Barcelona. "When I was a kid I thought about playing at Newell's, about playing Argentine football. Sometimes you have to think more about the family rather than what you want," said the Barcelona star. 

Messi spoke of the beginning of the campaign, full of injuries for the player.  "Although we're having a hard time getting this season off the ground, we have a squad of great players with a chance of winning everything. We're all here to win and try to get titles. In recent years there were winning projects, although in the last two years it was our fault, not the coach. We have a squad to win it all," said the Barcelona striker.

"I'm not at 100%, I still need to recover a bit. I do feel better. I was tired, my legs weighed a little, but it's normal. I'm not 100%, but I'm fine," he said.

GRIEZMANN, NEYMAR...

One of the names mentioned in the interview was Antoine Griezmann: "It's not easy to come and play for Barcelona because of the football philosophy. Any player who has not lived the philosophy of Barça, despite his quality, will find it very difficult. He's used to playing in a different way than we do here, but he's a very intelligent player who will end up adapting. "I remember statements that I said Griezmann was one of the best and the best are always welcome," he added.

Another player that was mentioned was Neymar: "I also wanted Neymar to come. He's one of the best in the world. Having him on our team would have meant having a much better chance of achieving our goals. But Neymar goes beyond the team, there's also everything that surrounds him. It's understandable that there were people who didn't want him because of everything that had happened," he said.

"I wasn't in the negotiations for Neymar, a lot of people say that I do the transfers, but it's not true," said the Barcelona striker. "I don't rule out Neymar for next year, I don't rule out anything. According to what the president said it could not be done this year, but who knows about the next one, anything can happen" he said about the Brazilian.

The captain of Barcelona explained his feelings regarding the negotiation with Neymar. "I sincerely thought at one point, especially in this market, that if he did not come here he would go to Madrid because he wanted to leave. He had said it, he wanted a change, to leave Paris. And I thought that Florentino and Madrid were going to do something to take him away", he explained.

The Barcelona footballer was also asked about Valverde's future. "The defeat against Liverpool was our fault. What happened in that match can't happen because it happened the year before, but we were blocked. We could never get out and we were getting worse and worse. But it's not up to the coach. It wasn't my decision to keep him. The club decided that Valverde was going to continue. It was a joy for everyone, a tranquillity. To achieve the goal we all have," he said of the coach.

Questioned about one of the captains and leaders of the squad, Messi said that "Piqué is a very transparent person, intelligent. A person who says what he thinks without worrying about how it may impact others, who is sincere at all times and always tries to go face to face. A cheerful and fun person."

But the Argentine did not agree with the words of his teammate on the relationship between the squad and the Board. "I was surprised by what Piqué said. He's been here many years. I honestly wouldn't have done it, I don't think it was necessary," he explained.

In addition, he also spoke about the expulsion of Dembélé before Sevilla. "It's very difficult that he could have said that to him because it's difficult for him to make clear sentences and speak well enough to say so clearly, and then the coach backed me up with what he said in a press conference. But it is true, we were surprised that he understood so clearly because the truth is that Ousmane still struggles to speak Spanish," he said to 'Rac 1'.

Another of the topics to be dealt with was the relationship with Bartomeu himself: "I don't have any problem with the president. We talk and everything is fine. When we meet and we have to talk, we don't have any problem," he said. "They asked me about Griezmann, about Ney's return, but nothing more than that. We talk and speak for the good of the team, but we don't make decisions," he said.

OBJECTIVES

Leo Messi has one main objective: the Champions League. He said so last season, but the debacle at Anfield left him unable to dispute the final against Liverpool. The Argentinean believes that, in his time in Barça, there could have been many more titles. 

"We could have had another Champions League title in all this time, but one thing is to believe it and another is reality. For one reason or another we have not won one for a long time," he said.

"I would be disappointed to spend another year without winning the Champions League. It's everyone's goal to bring it back to Barcelona, it's been already four or five years that we do not," said the Argentine.

As captain of Barcelona, Messi was asked about the controversy surrounding the dismissal of Víctor Valdés from Juvenil A: "I was surprised by what happened from the day he arrived to how things were handled. I saw that there was a lot of information and a lot of news. I was surprised that it came this way."

Valdés was his companion, as was Xavi Hernández, who has already given way to the bench. The Argentinian sees him back in Barcelona: "Xavi is going to come back here whenever he wants".

"I like VAR and I'm in favour of it, but it's still leaving a lot of doubts. It's still not being used well. There are many doubts, ways to see a play for the VAR. If the VAR is there, it's to clear all kinds of doubts," defended Messi.

"With players like Andres and Xavi we had 90% of the possession. When we lost it, we recovered it after five seconds. We knew it was going to happen, but I think we have great midfielders but Iniesta and Xavi were unique. Everything went through our midfield," he added of the team's change of cycle.

HIS BEST MOMENT, HIS BEST GOAL...

In the last part of the interview, Messi was asked about specific moments of his career. "It's hard to choose the best moment because I was lucky enough to live many times, but I think Guardiola's time was one of the best moments as a player."

His lowest moment was also clear. "The worst was in 2013 and 2014, when I was injured and I was two or three months out," he explained.

From the "best goal was the header in Rome, in the final of the Champions League against Manchester United" to the Spanish team as "the most difficult team to face." 

And the best memory? "The semifinal against Madrid that we won 2-0. I don't know if it was the best match, but it was a unique memory. "The best coach I've ever had is Guardiola, the best of all, and Luis Enrique is very close," he added.

"The armband doesn't impose, I don't feel it that way. It's a beautiful responsibility and a pride in what it represents," he said. "I don't speak Catalan because I never did, I always speak Spanish," he added.