Barcelona’s Lionel Messi wants his side to win La Liga as a tribute to former Coach Tito Vilanova, who recently died of cancer.
The Blaugrana face Atletico Madrid in a title decider at Camp Nou on Saturday, with the Catalan giants knowing victory over the Rojiblancos will ensure they are champions.
However, the Argentine admitted that Barca are lucky that their destiny is still in their own hands and said all three of the top teams this season have wasted chances to move clear.
“We want to win this League,” Messi said during an interview at a publicity event in Switzerland. “After everything that has happened, we could dedicate it to Tito.
“He would certainly have wanted us to win it. He loved the club and was also a fan.
“The League has been very strange. The top three teams have all made a lot of mistakes and we haven’t won matches that we should have been winning in order to secure the title.
“We are fortunate that we still have our destiny in our own hands. The League is very important because it is a year’s worth of hard work.
“We have gone through some difficult moments this year but we have overcome them.
"Finishing the year by winning the League would be good, I don’t know if it would salvage the season but it would be a very important title.”
Messi was then asked about the future of Barca Coach Tata Martino.
“I’m not sure what his plans are, I think he will want to continue.
"One day though we will definitely see him with the Argentina national team because he is a great Coach and he wants to lead the national team.”
