Lionel Messi believes the citizens of Barcelona would be happier if Atletico Madrid won the UEFA Champions League final at the San Siro. The Barcelona forward says the fans would be happy if their arch-rivals Real Madrid won nothing this year.
With Barcelona already eliminated from Europe's most coveted competition, the 28-year-old wants Diego Simeone's men to win the title. Real Madrid, meanwhile, are second in the Liga BBVA one point behind Barcelona and play Atletico Madrid in the final of the UEFA Champions League on 28th May at the San Siro in Milan.
Speaking to ESPNFC in an exclusive interview, Messi said, "For the people of Barcelona, it would be a pleasure to see Atletico win the Champions League.
"In Barcelona, supporters would prefer to see Real win nothing," he added.
"Atletico are a very uncomfortable and difficult opponent to face, but they and Diego Simeone are there on merit."
Speaking for his own team, Messi insists that they have 'two finals' to play – the last game of the domestic league and the final of the Spanish cup, Copa del Rey.
"We have two finals now, one in the league and one in the cup. A league title is very difficult to win, so you have to win it and then reflect on the achievement and savour it. It would be great to end the year with two titles."
For their last game in the league, Barcelona travel to relegation-threatened Granada. With Luis Suarez, Neymar and Lionel Messi all hitting top form in their 5-0 win over local rivals Espanyol, hopes will be high within the Catalan camp. Post this, they face Sevilla in the final of the Copa del Rey on the 23rd of May.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, travel to Deportiva for their final game before facing their local rivals in Italy. Zinedine Zidane will have apprehensions with Gareth Bale still struggling to get completely fit but Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema look like they're back to their best.
