Barca Shouldn’t Depend On One Player- Messi

Lionel Messi said Barcelona have good enough players to not have to depend on him to bail them out every week after helping salvage a 1-1 draw against Athletic Bilbao.

The debate about Barca’s dependence on Messi is not a new one, but it resurfaced on Saturday when the Argentine came off the bench to help them salvage a point at Camp Nou as their winless run extended to three games.

Messi, who was introduced in the 55th minute, had already hit the post and seen a free kick cleared off the line when he set up Munir El Haddadi to equalise with five minutes to play.

“We have the squad and the players to be a great team, to be a strong team and not depend on anyone,” Messi told BeIn Sports when asked if Barca were too reliant on him.

“This is Barca. We have enough players, we don’t need to depend on one. These results have been a shame, but we have to stay calm because it’s a long season.”

Striker Luis Suarez also said Barca, whose tie with Athletic followed a midweek defeat to Leganes and a draw with Girona, should be able to cope without Messi.

“We have the best player in the world but we can’t depend on Leo coming on to sort things out,” the Uruguayan said to reporters.

“There are a lot of us here on our own merits, for having shown a lot at other clubs, and it doesn’t depend only on Leo coming on. We should have won the game before he came on.”

Barca travel to Tottenham in the Champions League on Wednesday, their fourth game in 10 days, and coach Ernesto Valverde said that was the reason for leaving Messi on the bench.

“I looked at the games we had, I thought what could happen and I thought that Messi and [Sergio] Busquets needed to rest, knowing that Wednesday is a big game and we have a big squad,” Valverde said in a postgame news conference.

“If we won 2-1 the question wouldn’t even exist. I know it’s a risky decision [leaving Messi out]. I took that risk and haven’t won. It’s absolutely my responsibility.”