Barcelona boss Luis Enrique claims Lionel Messi “would be the best in the world in any position” after his hat-trick against Celtic on Tuesday.
Messi became the Champions League’s highest scorer of hat-tricks in Barca’s 7-0 rout of Celtic as he netted his sixth, one more than Cristiano Ronaldo, prompting Enrique to state the No 10 could do it all, regardless of where he played.
“Messi is the best player of all time,” the Coach said after the game.
“Why? Because he plays everywhere and in any position he’d be the best in the world.
“If he plays as a No 6, he’s the best 6, if he plays as a No 8, he’s the best 8 and if he plays as a No 10, he’s the best 10, so he’s given absolute freedom on the pitch.
“It would be unwise of me if I didn’t utilise this quality of a player who’s able to make a 40-metre pass to the foot of his teammate.”
On La Blaugrana’s seven-goal performance against Celtic, the Asturian described it as “a great show”, adding “we enjoyed it in the dugout.”
“The players enjoyed it on the pitch, the fans in the stands. It was a great night.
“We were convinced that [Suarez] would end up scoring. He has unlimited credit for us and scored two beastly goals.
“[Iniesta] is a unique and unrepeatable player. He has no physical needs because his quality and football vision allows him to play at another level.
“Especially [has Umtiti adapted] because [centre-back] is a position that historically brings many problems, but he seems to have played there all his life.”
However, Enrique warned Celtic “came once into our box and won a penalty, so we must be more vigilant in these types of plays.”
And on Barca fans’ show of estelada flags, which got the club in hot water with UEFA last season, he concluded: “I only talk about what I see and just focus on the football.”
