Lionel Messi has admitted that 2013-14 was far from his best year, acknowledging a lot of problems on and off the pitch.
The Barcelona forward has been interviewed by Mundo Leo and he reflected on the past 12 months and the recent upturn in form for both himself and his club.
“The truth is that I wanted to start this year as well as possible. I knew it hadn’t been a great year, where I had a lot of problems on and off the pitch,” he said, AS reports.
“It was a challenge to change the whole image I had projected last season. And to get it back what it was in previous years. That was my goal and that’s how I wanted to start the season.
“The reality is that Barca are doing very well. Luckily, after the game against Real Sociedad, where we didn’t start the year well, everything changed.
“We’re now in another dynamic. Everything is together. The team is confident and there’s a change in our attitude and desire, and that has gotten us where we are today.”
Messi added however that there is still a long way to go in the season and looked ahead to Barca’s return to Champions League action, where they will play Manchester City.
“We still haven’t won anything. There are many months of competition to go, in the League and the Champions League,” he warned.
“And we have to guarantee our place in the Cup final as well. We have to go on to meet our objectives.
“We played City last year and they are a team of great players, so they will be two difficult games. The goal for them is to qualify, because they haven’t done that.
“It will be a close match and the details will make the difference. It will be a nice match too, because City have strengthened [from last season].”
