cármenes

That is a load of banter. There's no hatred between Lucho and Messi... They don't love each other but are very professional and they handle the situation well. I know Guardiola was like a father to Messi but just because Lucho isn't the same it doesn't mean they hate each other. Anyway, Messi is in best from since 2012 and his performances on the pitch speak for themselves that everything's alright and he feels comfortable. He recently been full of admiration that everyone around is so good to him and he feels he's loved in Barcelona. Not to mention the "Messssi, Messssi" chants every game. Also, Mourinho himself recently said Chelsea couldn't afford Leo and that he'll never leave Barcelona. Finally, Messi never said Mourinho is the best or one of the best coaches in the world. Never. Give me the actual quote because I never heard him saying that and google didn't either.

Those stats were from all comps and I don't quite understand why are you ignoring Neymar's impact in international football? Maybe because he's light years ahead of Hazard in that aspect? About putting in a defensive shift- let's admit that Neymar is more of a forward and Hazard is more of a midfielder. It's not like Neymar doesn't support his fullback at all though. When on form, Neymar is absolutely running riot and is very tough to contain with his unpredictability. In all honesty, I think Hazard would be a better fit for Barcelona but Neymar is clearly the better player overall, at the club level as well as the international level.

How is Hazard the better playmaker? Over the past two seasons, Neymar has 29 assists and Hazard has 21. Neymar was one of the stars at the World Cup, he's flourishing for Brazil, shines on international stage and has been amazing for Barcelona this season scoring in almost every important game. He also bulked up recently and is not the pushover he used to be.

Neymar is leading the attack line of Brazil and has more goals than Pele when both at age 22. I'd say Neymar is better than Hazard at everything besides link up play and dribbling.

When has Messi been throwing praises at Mourinho? They never liked each other and Mou used to insult him during El Clasicos. Messi is not having any problems with the Spanish justice, if anything it's his accountants who must've made a mistake, at worst he'll have to pay a penalty but that's nothing that would make him leave Barcelona. Messi is not having problems with Enrique, they don't particularly like each other but everything is sorted out. Following Chelsea on instagram is nothing, probably for the lolz, to put pressure on Barca's board or just because of Fabergas. Messi and Neymar are big friends and the latter knows his place in the line. Leo is happy in Barcelona and as I said, he's not transferable.

Dip in form. He's very bad lately but on form he's better than Hazard easily.

Messi has visited London because his best friend lives there and his girlfriend also gets along well with Cesc's wife, nothing related to a possible transfer. Taxes or not, Messi's release clause is still 250m and he's got no desire to leave. Also, why would he swap sunny Barcelona for rainy London? Messi is not a transferable player, you can wish all you want, false hope.

Who the hell is Bamford and why are you comparing him with the best player in the world and arguably in history? As if you can afford Messi. With all the taxes and shit it would be around a million. He'll never leave Barca anyway.

Barca's current board is not really well known for their glorious transfer history, are they? Pogba is supposed to be Bartomeu's bargaining chip in this year's presidential elections. As in people will vote for him because he will make a big signing. He doesn't care if he fits in or not.

I think the domestic double is pretty much secured but I don't really have very high hopes for CL. Our midfield haven't been so bad for around a decade, if this doesn't get quickly fixed then I can't see us surviving a tie against Bayern for example. Although if we can keep the oldman Xavi fit and if Iniesta gets his shit together then it may all be fine with a little dose of luck. However, Messi usually drops deep to support the midfield players but it's still not good because it means no Messi up front. Who knows, maybe Iniesta will raise his game for the big encounters. If Real Madrid drop out of the CL then I think we a have a fair shot on the trophy, all depends on who'll get the bigger dose of luck.

The season must be rather dull for you at this point. No match for you in the leauge and CL out of reach

Yeah, thanks for some sense. Have a nice day.

Seriously that's all you've got? I'm dying here. From laughter. Now I know why you mentioned the 2009 semi final. Because you don't have any history before that so you have to embrace it. lol

Yeah. That's why I wrote 'although there's still a few months till the season ends'. But the decline is already noticeable.

That's all you've got to say? Then we have nothing to talk about. Thanks for proving me right. You seem to think you're better than other fans. Not that I expected something more coming here, but still...

I made myself look like a wanker? How so? If anything, you still proved not to be over something that happened 6 years ago. The ref might have been bribed but history is history. Funny you call me or other Barca supporters plastic fans, I wonder what a great fan you are to claim that. It's not like every famous club has plastic fans anyway, eh? This why nobody likes Barcelona? Not my fault people aren't/weren't able to appreciate the best team in history, is it (people in England know little about football outside this country...)? Let's talk about the atmosphere you GREAT Chelsea fans create on the Stamford Bridge. Oh wait, there's no atmosphere at all. Sorry, I was really nice to all of you, but you catched one word in my little piece of text and alluded to something you can't get over with. Is it my fault?

Ok, now I get it. You've made some good points. But honestly, after thinking about it, I'd nod the idea of kicking Cesc out in favour of Koke. Are you content with Fabregas' performances so far? Because, in my opinion, he tends to disappear in more important games and it's not a coincidence. It's been like that during his staying 3 year staying in Barcelona as well. Year after year, he started off brilliantly but eventually ended up as a disappointment. All Barca fans were fed up with this guy and I'm curious to hear your opinion, although there's still a few months till the season ends.

Don't be so bitter, please!

Obviously. Wilmots is a really limited tactician and Belgium will never unveil its true potential under his reign.

Are you trying to imply that Koke is not strong? He's around 1.80m and really well-built. Also, he's a member of the Atletico rugby team. Definitely not a pushover...

You really had to bring that to the table? The thing is, you tend to forget the first leg in 2009, where the match should have ended like 2 or 3-0 for Barcelona, but the referee didn't send Ballack off, Eto'o was caught offside while he actually was onside and there should be a penalty for Barcelona. Incorrect calls occured for both sides, so please, stop recalling it. Cheers.

Thanks! I'm also a big fan of Rafinha, he's still developing but he already has shown he can do well against top opposition. I love Thiago as well and I'm a bit disappointed he couldn't feature more in Barca, it was a stupid decision to let him go, although he has major problems with injuries. Yeah, I'm liking the improvement from last season. I think the main reason is Lucho Enrique bringing a different, more direct approach. We still usually manage to keep the ball possession at around 65% but we also don't hesitate when there's even a little chance of launching a quick counter or hoofing the ball over the top to our brilliant trio up front. Tata Martino's tactics weren't really efficient, often left Messi isolated and the key is to have him on the ball as often as possible. Also, Suarez's presence is definitely an asset, he's such a great striker and his overall game is very impressive. Definitely an improvement over Sanchez, who couldn't settle in the team for good. I don't think he's had the skills to compliment his team-mates at Barca.

Honestly, I think Chelsea would be better off with Koke replacing Cesc. As good as Fabregas is, he never delivers in the most important period of the season and he's just not a player that can take the game on his shoulders. Go watch the recent Spain-Netherlands game where Cesc's deficencies have been horribly exposed. Believe me, I followed him closely throughout his 3 year staying in Barcelona and he kept disappearing in the business part of the season while stat-padding against lesser teams in the first 4 or so months. I'm glad Barca got rid of him (although they didn't exactly manage to get a worthy replacement, I mean Rakitic is good but we should've gotten a more suitable player for our style and requirements).

True that. And Sterling is a top shelf talent, that's the money you gotta pay for real talents these days. Would very much prefer him to Bale tbh.

Koke is very much a 'powerful' CM and would fit into the team perfectly, even better than Fabregas imo (I have an opinion on this guy but it's a discussion for another day, I guess). He's got creativity, an eye for a through ball, while still working hard as a horse. With all space he'd get in the Premier Leauge, he'd just be another star player, like Alexis or Costa or most players coming from La Liga for that matter.