Whether Lionel Messi is the leader of this Barça side or Luis Enrique is, is a subject which must be settled among themselves. What is evident is that the Argentine is the heavyweight at the club. His form on the pitch and his opinion off it has to be taking into account. Especially when he is speaking as clearly as this.
In an interview with 'Mundo Leo', Messi spoke about the changes the team have experienced in 2015 in respect to the second half of the season. The point of inflection was the match at Anoeta, as the player explained. His words differ from his coach's, who has insisted since losing to Real Sociedad "there has been no change" in the team.
The first surprise in Leo Messi's words is that he admits he needed to improve on the level of performances he displayed in 2013-14. He was self-critical without hiding from the reasons why: "The truth is that this year I tried to start as well as possible. I knew that I wasn't coming off the back of a great year, because there were a lot of problems."
Messi admitted, during the interview, that last season he "had many problems both on and off the pitch". Problems that ended up affecting both FC Barcelona and the Argentine national team. Result: A disappointing season. "The challenge was to change the image I had projected last season. And to return to being who I was in previous years. That was my objective and I have started this campaign with a lot of enthusiasm," he said.
But Leo Messi didn't leave it there, instead carrying on to talk about the match which provoked the great change, the defeat in San Sebastian in January: "The truth is that we are fine. Fortunately, after the game at Real Sociedad, where we did not start the year well, everything changed."
Anoeta was necessary for the group. Messi argued that the consequences of that defeat have brought on the metamorphosis: "Now there is another dynamic, we are all in this together. The team is confident, the attitude has changed and we are all really enthusiastic. And we are where we are". He didn't want to get too carried away. "There's a lot left [this season]!"
With this new attitude, Barcelona have won 11 games in a row and have grown into the most effective team in Europe. It gives reason to believe the season will end in success. However, Leo advised caution: "We've not won anything yet. There are months left in the league and the Champions League. We still need to take the final step to get to the Copa final. We have to continue as we are to reach our objectives."
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
If there is one competition that the Argentine loves it is, without doubt, the Champions League. Despite his voracity in all competitions -- he wants to play all the time, every minute -- it is in Europe where differences are marked. And he is ready to go toe-to-toe with Manchester City in the round-of-16 next Tuesday in England: "We've got City like last season and they are a team made up of great players, so there are going to be two really difficult games."
Leo recognises that the Premier League side are desperate to get through, not least as revenge for last year: "The objective for them is to qualify (for the quarter-final) because they have not managed that yet. It will be even and the small details will count a lot. It will be a good game because City have strengthened a lot." At City is Messi's friend Kun Agüero, who spent last weekend visiting Barcelona.