Messi to play in a new position, suggests Barca manager Valverde

Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverede has hinted that Messi might play in a new position as the club begins their La Liga campaign later tonight.

Barcelona’s La Liga campaign gets underway on Saturday night at the Camp Nou with the visit of Deportivo Alaves. Prior to the clash, Ernesto Valverde appeared before the press after his team’s final training session ahead of the clash. The Barca boss was subject to a lot of questions regarding Leo Messi.

Barcelona’s captain is hungrier than ever for Champions League glory this season. In order to keep him fresh and get the best out of him, Valverde has confirmed that he might use the Argentinian more often on the right hand side of the pitch.

“Like everyone else, Messi needs to feel comfortable, be involved in the game, score and set up goals,” Valverde said. I think that’s practically what every player needs. But it’s true that there is a lot of commotion around Leo just for who he is – both here and in Argentina. What we have to do is create an environment for him in which he feels happy out on the pitch.”‘

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Leo Messi was deployed in a more central position last year and played most parts of the game at central attacking midfield. In 32 appearances in the last domestic league campaign, the 31 year old chipped in with 34 goals and 12 assists for Barcelona. Meanwhile, Valverde also has a task of getting Luis Suarez up and running.

“Luis is fine. He’s only just coming back from his break, so he’s gradually getting up to speed, but he looks good,” Valverde said. “Luis is a goalscorer. He’s aggressive in the area. We know what he gives us. Regardless of his success in front of goal, the fight is always there.

“Last year, at the beginning, there were criticisms because it took him a while to start scoring, but when he started he did not stop. He guarantees fight in front of the goal. It’s a matter of patience and perseverance, and what Luis has is perseverance. Once he gets started he doesn’t stop. He’ll keep plugging away.”