Lionel Messi questions Manchester United's stance over Carlos Tevez

20 May 2009 10:27
Barcelona will meet Manchester United in Rome for the Champions League final next week with Messi questioning Ferguson's apparent decision to let Tevez leave for a rival club once his two year loan arrangement is concluded at the end of the season. 'I have no idea why Manchester are letting my countryman go while he is talented enough to be in every team in the world's starting line-up,' Messi said. The Argentine expects to face his countryman in the mouth-watering meeting of the freshly crowned champions of England and Spain, though is reluctant to become focused on one individual, instead marvelling at United's array of attacking talent. 'Carlitos can start for any team in Europe or the world. The problem is that, at teams like Manchester United, lots of players are good enough to start: there's Rooney, Ronaldo, Berbatov, Tevez. It's best I don't go on naming them, it'll make me nervous,' Messi said in an interview with Champions magazine. 'Carlitos and I speak on the phone now and then. We get on really well. When we meet up with Argentina we talk about lots of things, but the truth is I never thought our paths would cross in a Champions League final. 'They're a great team (United). If you go through the whole squad, you'd be hard-pushed to know which player to choose if you had to pick just one,' Messi told Champions magazine. 'But clearly you have to start with Cristiano, a great forward who can gambetear (a South American term for dribbling with all the feints, checks, swerves and tricks thrown in) with speed and ease. 'And he has a great medium range shot. We're conscious that in Rome we can't give him time to think or get a shot in from distance. He's a great footballer.' Barcelona are on course for a domestic treble to equal the achievement of Ferguson's team in 1999, after winning the domestic cup and league in Spain already. However, despite the club earning plaudits for their style as well as prizes this season, Messi is taking nothing for granted even if he thinks his side are capable of winning the biggest of them all. "We're a great team, we work hard, play well and have had a great Champions League campaign. We've scored 30 goals in 12 games and have lost only to Wisla Kraków and Shakhtar Donetsk. And, after the group stages, we didn't waver against Olympique Lyonnais or Bayern Munich, two of the strongest teams in Europe. "Yes, it was hard for us [against Chelsea in the semi-finals. We were suffering right up until stoppage time at Stamford Bridge. "But that's one more proof that we deserve to win the Champions League. The fact we beat Chelsea, and the manner in which we did it, shows Barcelona aren't just a good team – we have impressive mental strength, too. "In Spain, Chelsea gave us no space. They put four or five men in defence and we couldn't score past them. But that didn't make us give up. We were at their place and we were losing from early on but we gave them a fight right to the end. That last move was just glorious – my heart nearly exploded when I saw Iniesta's shot go in. Messi, while confident of his own side's ability, respects the dangerous opposition waiting in Rome. 'First of all, considering Ferguson's team are a great team, that they are unbeaten in the Champions League for 25 games, and that they are the reigning champions, the most important thing will be to win,' he said. 'If we do lift the trophy, we'll be keen to get back to Barcelona quickly. The ideal would be a good party at Nou Camp and in the whole city.'

Source: Telegraph