Xavi Hernandez has described Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi as an “amazing luxury” following his contribution against Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.
The Argentine scored an acclaimed solo goal to break the deadlock in the Copa del Rey final, before wrapping up a 3-1 triumph for La Blaugrana with a second late on, and the midfielder struggled to find the superlatives worthy of his colleague’s performance after the final whistle at Camp Nou.
“[On Lionel Messi’s wonder goal], these are the unique things that he does,” he told Tele Cinco.
“He’s able to make those moves, get past three players and score at the near post. He’s amazing and it’s a luxury to have the best player in the world," said Tele Cinco.
“I’m very happy and content [about winning the Copa]. [Athletic] competed very well, but we’re on a winning run and feeling fine.
“Our first two goals put us in a very strong position, along with a spectacular brace from Messi.
“[On whether this Barca could top Pep Guardiola’s 2008-09 treble winners], we’re already being compared! We still have a lot to do [in the Champions League final].
“We’ve done the double, and it’s historic, but we want more. We can match that treble [of 08-09], so we’ll see what happens.
“We’ve come [into the end of the season] very well, the Coach has done an outstanding job to keep the squad fresh.”
