‘Any team would have Messi’

Real Madrid Coach Carlo Ancelotti believes any team would have Lionel Messi world in their ranks, amidst reports that the forward is unhappy at Barcelona.

Iker Casillas stated on Thursday that Los Blancos did not need the Argentine, even if he was made available for transfer, but his Coach appeared to think otherwise.

“I totally agree with [Casillas’ statement that I’m better than Mourinho], I'm perfect as well!,” he joked at a Press conference.

“Everyone has their opinion, and I appreciate what he said, but it’s difficult to discuss Messi. I think any team in the world would have room for him.”

The Italian then passed judgment on the prospective signings of Lucas Silva and Martin Odegaard, Barcelona’s transfer ban and his forthcoming Espanyol adversary Sergio Gonzalez.

“As we’ve said before, we’re evaluating the recovery of the players. Khedira is fine and recovering, so is Modric. There’s no need to sign any players in this market,” he added.

“Odegaard’s a young lad who has a big future. We wanted to meet him personally. He’s trained with us, but we have not made a decision on him yet.

“I don’t consider [the transfer ban] an advantage to Madrid, it’s a matter for Barcelona to handle. This Barca team already have a lot of quality.

“The most important thing is that we win again. We have an advantage in the League and want to keep it up. It’s good for morale at the club.

“Espanyol’s new Coach has given them a new lease of life. Their level of organisation has improved, they played well against Valencia and, as always, every game is difficult and complicated, so we need to prepare for it accordingly.”

Tags Carlo Ancelotti Iker Casillas Lionel Messi Lucas Silva Luka Modric Martin Odegaard Sami Khedira Sergio Gonzalez
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