Lionel Messi has hailed his Barcelona teammate Luis Suarez and termed him the best striker in the world right now. The Argentine said he thinks that Suarez is "the best out-and-out forward there is in the game today."
Suarez moved from Liverpool to Barcelona in the summer of 2014 and after spending his initial few months on the sidelines due to a ban, he burst onto the scene with the Catalan giants. Together with Messi and Brazil captain Neymar, the Uruguayan talisman has formed one of the most fearsome attacking trios in the football world. ‘MSN’ led the Blaugrana to a treble in the last season.
Suarez was left out of the FIFA Fifpro World XI team while Messi won the Ballon d’Or on Monday in Zurich for the fifth time in his career. However, the Argentine thinks his Uruguayan compatriot is the best out and out forward that the game has in the present.
"It is difficult to compare him to all the ones [goalscorers] I have played alongside,” the 28-year-old said.
"There have been so many. What I can say is that he is the best out-and-out forward there is in the game today.
"He has so much to offer the team and it is a pleasure to play alongside him. We also have a very good relationship off the pitch and I am very happy to be sharing everything with him."
I get on very well with Neymar: Messi
Messi also had good things to say about his Brazilian colleague Neymar. The two have developed a good relationship, both on and off the pitch and the 23-year-old's rise at Barcelona is being credited to Messi’s mentorship. Earlier, Ronaldinho mentored the Argentine during his early days in the first team of the Catalan club.
"The fact is that I get on very well with Neymar. He has said nice things about me ever since he arrived at the club. It makes me feel very happy to hear a friend and a colleague talk like that," Messi said.
"I think [MSN's success] is all down to the chemistry between the three of us, both on and off the pitch and the type of people that we are too.
"We all want the best for the team, for the squad. That is more important than anything else."
Barcelona played against Espanyol at the Estadi Cornella-El Prat on Wednesday and won 2-0 to clear their way to the Copa del Rey quarter-finals. Munir El Haddadi scored both the goals for the club.
