"One of Leo's greatest strengths is that he always surprises you"

Andrés Iniesta has been one of the most important players in the history of 21st-century football. One of the leaders of the best Barcelona IN history, he gives his last kicks in Japan, in Vissel Kobe.

The man from La Mancha, Spain's hero in the 2010 World Cup, reviewed with 'Olé' his friendship with Leo Messi and what the Argentinean means to the world of football.

"One of the great things about Leo is that he always surprises you. The regularity with which he makes the difference, game by game, year by year, doesn't stop. Now, after so many years, he continues to surprise. That is within the reach of very few, if any," said Iniesta.

Iniesta acknowledged that Messi "makes the difference" in any record. "He is as capable of scoring a 'hat trick' of goals as he is of assists. If from the outside it looks very nice, from the inside it looks even easier. I mean, I knew that if he came in from the left, you knew where to go for the ball. Those of us who have played alongside him have enjoyed it that way. For me, he's number one. Obviously it can't be the whole team. He needs everything he's got to be in order to make the team even more powerful," he said.

One of Messi's criticisms from Argentina is that he has not won any titles. "For me it is very difficult to say that Leo plays a bad game. Because that's practically impossible. Nor can you compare the environment or the team of an Argentina team with one like Barça, who he works with every day," he argued. 

Iniesta was asked about the Argentine players who have had an impact on him. "From before I liked Aimar very much. I liked him a lot because he was a different player, with a lot of confidence, daring, one against one, overflowing, fast, intelligent. Riquelme, Veron... Now, from the present day, Di Maria, for example," he confessed.

At Barcelona he met Javier Mascherano, who tried to convince him to go to Argentina. "He called me, but we didn't talk much in-depth. He asked me how I was and I told him about my situation here and nothing else. He told me his wish to go, if there were possibilities, but no more", explained Iniesta.