Messi: "I hope Neymar does for Barcelona what he does for Brazil"

Posted Saturday, June 29, 2013 by Marca.com

Messi:

FC Barcelona's Leo Messi discussed his club's current situation in Senegal, where he was supporting a campaign to fight against malaria. Messi:

Messi was asked questions about quite a lot of subjects. Among these was his reaction to the arrival of Neymar in the Barça dressing rooms. He was quite upfront: "Neymar is a great player. He is sure to make a big contribution. I hope he will go on to do for Barcelona what he does for Brazil".

The link-up between the two players will be vital in a season in which Barcelona will be expected to be at the forefront once again. "Barca's aim this coming season will once again be to fight for everything", Messi stated, and he also hopes that Real Madrid will be challenging, too. Following the appointment of Carlo Ancelotti, he added "We shall be competing with a great team with very superb players. Real Madrid had a great manager and now the club has signed another very good one".

The Barça number 10 shirt believes that Pep Guardiola can make Bayern Munich into an even more fearful opponent. "Bayern was a great club even before Guardiola, and now Pep's arrival will make the side stronger still", he declared.

Messi's presence in the town of Saly aroused a great deal of expectation, requiring the local police to take special crowd control measures to deal with the thousands of people who wanted to be close to their idol.