Messi: 'Barça is my home'

Lionel Messi has spoken on a range of topics to Barcelona-based newspaper SPORT, discussing the new signings, last season, his current injury and his future at FC Barcelona. Here are some of his standout comments.

Last season

“It wasn’t a great season because of the way it ended but we were having a great season until the last two games.”

“Liverpool putting us out of the Champions League made the season look bad, but we’d been playing well until then. One poor game can put an end to everything.”

“Personally I felt perfectly fine, but I will always say that what interests me most are team trophies.”

Ballon d’Or

“The Ballon d’Or is a weird thing. Lately they seem to look more at what the team has achieved, which isn’t a bad thing. The Champions League is a major factor, in other years the World Cup, but sometimes they value those things highly and other times they don’t.”

“I have never felt that I was or was not the favourite. Individual honours are a secondary issue for me.”

Injury

“I’m feeling better. It really was a stroke of bad luck because it happened in the first training session.”

“It was a simple thing. It was going to be a fortnight and when I thought I was okay, it came back a bit in one of the sessions before the Betis game. That means I’ll be out for a while longer.”

“I will play when I feel really sure it isn't going to happen again because if it does then I’ll be out for even longer.”

“I really want to play. I hadn’t played for some time and was just back and this happened, so I’m really hungry to get playing again.”

“I certainly won’t be playing against Valencia and we’ll have to wait and see if I’m ready for Dortmund or Granada.”

New season

“It’s been a bit strange because we’ve had so many players out injured. We had a great game against Athletic but we couldn’t score. Against Betis we played really well but Osasuna was another one that was heavy going. But I’m not worried.”

Goals ahead

“I’d never settle for winning the Champions League but not La Liga. We always say the same thing at the start of the season. We want to win the lot and that’s what we’ll try to do.”

“I’d obviously love to win the Champions League because it’s some time since we won it, and I think the club really needs to win it again. Personally I’d love to win another one.”

New arrivals

“I don’t know whether we have a better squad than last season. We had a great team last year but this year we have a lot more options in midfield and attack. We have a fine squad  but the season will show whether it is a better one or not.”

Ousmane Dembélé

“He’s in great shape and can do whatever he wants because he’s so young. This is a big season for him because he can make the leap that everyone at Barça is waiting for.”

“I hope he doesn’t get the same bad luck as in previous years, getting injured when we needed him most. I think he’s an amazing player.”

Future at Barça

“I want to stay at Barça for as long as I can. I want to play at Barça for my whole career because this is my home.”

“But I don’t want to have a long-term contract and be able to stay here as long as I want. I want to stay here because I am physically able to, playing, being important and part of a winning project. I want to keep winning things at the club, achieving big things. Clauses and money mean nothing to me. The most important thing is being part of a winning project.”

Luis Enrique

“It was the kind of news you never expected. Unfortunately these things happen a lot in the world, but for it to happen to someone so close was terrible. We are so sorry. There is no explanation for these things and they are very upsetting.”