He had just played the game against Bolivia, but it barely took him five minutes to change gears and start thinking about La Liga again, and more than anything, about the 'Clásico'. "I've avoided any physical issues and now it's time to return to Barcelona and think about the 'Clásico', which will be a very big test", said Leo Messi.
He did not give much importance to having scored his 50th goal for Argentina. He is only interested in bagging the 500th of his career and he plans to do it this very Saturday against Real Madrid. If there's one match the Argentine loves, it is the Spanish 'Clásico'. And he also has a great record in the fixture.
Messi's figures against 'Los Blancos' are top of the line. The Barcelona star is the currently active player who has scored the most goals in the clash between the two rivals. He is level with Alfredo Di Stefano, who also scored 14 goals against Barcelona. The striker does not mind whether he is playing at the Camp Nou or the Bernabéu either, having netted 'only' six of those goals at his home ground.
The forward enters the 'Clásico' displaying some of his finest form of the season, after starting the campaign at half throttle as a result of a ligament injury in his left knee which sidelined him for almost two months.
He did not give much importance to having scored his 50th goal for Argentina. He is only interested in bagging the 500th of his career and he plans to do it this very Saturday against Real Madrid. If there's one match the Argentine loves, it is the Spanish 'Clásico'. And he also has a great record in the fixture.
Messi's figures against 'Los Blancos' are top of the line. The Barcelona star is the currently active player who has scored the most goals in the clash between the two rivals. He is level with Alfredo Di Stefano, who also scored 14 goals against Barcelona. The striker does not mind whether he is playing at the Camp Nou or the Bernabéu either, having netted 'only' six of those goals at his home ground.
The forward enters the 'Clásico' displaying some of his finest form of the season, after starting the campaign at half throttle as a result of a ligament injury in his left knee which sidelined him for almost two months.
The 14 of Cruyff
On a different note, with the 'Clásico' set to pay tribute to Johan Cruyff, it is worth remembering that Messi wore the Dutchman's famous number 14 shirt on the day of his debut for the Barcelona first team. That was back on 16th November 2003 when the team coached by Frank Rijkaard were playing a friendly against Porto. He was 16 years old at the time, and although he subsequently played with the number 30 when he was promoted to the first-team squad, the connection between two legends like Messi and Cruyff remains noteworthy.
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