Former Barcelona captain Xavi Hernandez on Tuesday said club captain Lionel Messi‘s absence from the squad to face Inter Milan in the Champions League due is a great plus for the visitors.
“Not playing against Messi is a huge advantage for Inter Milan because he is the best player in the world and the only one to change the course of a match on his own,” Xavi told Corriere Dello Sport.
Messi suffered from a broken arm during a Spanish league fixture against Sevilla on Sunday.
The midfield maestro also gave his take on the never-ending comparisons between his former Barcelona team-mate and Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo. “For me, Lionel Messi is not just the best in the world, he is the best in history. So, Messi is obviously better than Ronaldo. There should not be a comparison.”
Speaking about the match itself, Xavi said that it would be similar to the one against Inter in UEFA CL semi-finals in 2010. “It would be like 2010. Barcelona will dominate the ball, Inter will defend and look to counter-attack with (Mauro) Icardi and (Ivan) Perisic.”
He continued that Barcelona are favourites to win the fixture because ‘it is not easy for an away team to come out as winners at Camp Nou’.
The Blaugranes have won back-to-back group fixtures against PSV Eindhoven and Tottenham Hotspurs with Messi scoring 5 out of the 7 goals scored by the club.
The two teams will face each other at Camp Nou on Thursday 12pm Pakistan Standard Time (PST).