FOOTBALL
Michel: "Messi is not Batman like Sampaoli says...but almost"
The former Real Madrid player also spoke about Luis Enrique's contract renewal and hinted that the Barcelona manager is poorly treated by the media.
Barcelona – Real Sociedad live
Michel, former Real Madrid player and trainer of Ivan Rakitic at Sevilla is a close friend of Luis Enrique. He spoke recently with Radio Barcelona about all of this and more, including some interesting Lionel Messi quotes.
The former Rayo Vallecano and Getafe manager defended Raúl over his remarks about Messi recently and joked about the possibility of him managing Barcelona. "Me, training Barcelona? I would only send them my CV on 28th of December (Spain's equivalent to April Fool's Day)."
Messi and Ronaldo debate
On Sampaoli's comparing Messi to Batman, Michel says "Messi is not Batman like Sampaoli says, but almost...in respect to the comparisons with Cristiano Ronaldo, they are different players. As long as I can put 11 in a team, I would put the both of them in. If Messi had what Cristiano had and viceversa, you would have the perfect player."
Michel is a good friend of Luis Enrique and says, "I haven't talked to him about his contract renewal, maybe he has doubts about continuing at Barça because it seems when they win, the players win and when they lose...it seems he is assessed on the role the players are given. Credit to him for continuing to win titles like before with players who are four or five years older.
Ivan Rakitic
"I told Luis Enrique when he signed Ivan that he would be met with a huge surprise with the player, because more than what he showed at Sevilla, he was going to give a very high level of performance," Michel said regarding his former player at Sevilla, Ivan Rakitic.
"He is like Modric, who arrived with no name, but little by little started creating on the field. He is an ideal player for any coach and I don't think he wants to leave Barcelona."