Ivan Rakitic has reiterated his admiration for Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi. “Never again will there be another player like him.”
Speaking to Spanish radio on Thursday, the former Sevilla midfielder was quizzed on a number of his colleagues at Camp Nou and promptly reserved his highest praise for the No 10.
“[Messi’s form] is nothing new, but Leo’s the only one [in his league], everyone knows it,” the Croatia international mused to Cadena SER.
“He remains unique. Never again will there be another player like him.
“[Manuel] Neuer is unique, but it’s very difficult to compare him [to another goalkeeper].
“He’d improve each week [at Schalke] and has trained hard since he was young. In the context of playing and training, [Marc-Andre] Ter Stegen greatly resembles him.
“[Ter Stegen’s] a great goalkeeper. He’s improved a lot and will give us a lot [in time].
“[Neymar] has everything to be like Messi. He’s very young, has a lot of strength and still hasn’t reached the best years of his career.
“He works very hard year in year out and gives more and more.
“If [Dani Alves] stays then [that’d be] perfect. He’s one of the best full-backs in the world, works hard and is very professional. Any team would love to have him.
“It’s impressive what [Monchi] has done at Sevilla. I’d like him to stay there, but he’d also do well here.”
