Former Barcelona boss Udo Lattek has compared Lionel Messi favourably with his former charge Gerd Muller.
Blaugrana star Messi is currently striving to beat former German international Muller’s record of goals scored in a calendar year. And Lattek, who worked with Muller at Bayern Munich in the seventies before taking charge of Barca for two seasons in the eighties, has nothing but praise for the Argentine forward.
“Gerd Muller was my best player in terms of scoring goals,” the 77-year-old La Xarxa Radio. “But he was different from Messi. Leo is a better player.
“In my opinion he is the best there is, a marvel of football, like a god. Without Messi, Barcelona is Barcelona. But with him – and the other major players – they are the best team in the world. I think this year they will win the Champions league again.”
Messi has scored 82 goals in 2012 and requires just four more to beat Muller’s record of 85, set in 1972 when he was working under Lattek at Bayern.
