“Works very hard for his team” - When Lionel Messi named English player who would thrive in LaLiga during his time at Barcelona

Back in his Barcelona days, Lionel Messi once named Wayne Rooney as the England player who would thrive in LaLiga. At the peak of his career, Rooney was regarded as one of the best players in the world and Messi admitted that he is a huge admirer of the Englishman.

In an interview with Shortlist back in 2015, Lionel Messi hailed Rooney for his technical abilities and his tremendous work rate. The then-Barcelona attacker also claimed that Manchester United would never let the England international go but he left the Red Devils as early as in 2017. Rooney said, as quoted by SPORTbible:

"[Wayne] Rooney has exceptional quality. Not just great technical ability, but also works very hard for his team. I’m sure Manchester United will never want to let him leave, though."

In another interview in 2015 with The Mirror, Lionel Messi labeled Rooney as 'once-in-a-generation talent'. The Argentine superstar also insisted that Rooney cannot be compared with any other player thanks to his unique skillset. He said:

"Wayne Rooney is for me a once-in-a-generation player. One of those special players, who is not comparable to any other. There are many special players, but Rooney has exceptional quality and technical ability as well as being one of the strongest players I have faced with an exceptional work rate - there is nobody like him.”

“I have always said the same is true of myself and Argentina — breaking caps and goals records mean nothing unless they come with trophies. Like I say, Wayne is a winner. It will always be the team first and personal records second," Messi concluded.

Wayne Rooney has etched his name as one of the best players England have ever produced. He spent his best days on the books of Manchester United and won 16 trophies for the Red Devils.

Rooney scored 253 goals and produced 140 assists in 559 appearances for Manchester United over the years. He is England's highest-capped outfield player with 120 caps and is their second-highest scorer with 53 goals.

Ronald Koeman urges fans not to compare Barcelona star with Lionel Messi

Former Barcelona defender and manager Ronald Koeman has claimed that Lamine Yamal should not be compared with Lionel Messi. Yamal has been compared by many with Messi following his sensational showings at a very young age.

Koeman has claimed that Yamal is a special player, but no one can be compared with Lionel Messi. The Netherlands manager said, as quoted by Barca Universal:

“No one should be compared to Messi. Yamal is of course an amazing player. At his age, of this quality and importance, let’s hope he continues on this path. There is only one Messi. I think you have the right to compare players, and the only thing I hope is that the player himself doesn’t think that way, but rather works every day to improve. I think that’s the most important thing because a player’s career goes through a lot of ups and downs."

Koeman added:

“He must work hard and be serious. He can certainly become a great player, and he already is at his current age, because he is a decisive player at certain moments in matches. He shouldn’t be compared to Messi because Messi is a unique player, and that’s all there is to it. Messi was fantastic, and certainly with the passing years and gaining experience, Lamine will improve more and more, but I don’t think we’ll ever see a player in the future who was as important to Barcelona as Messi was."

Lionel Messi is arguably Barcelona's greatest ever player and probably the best footballer ever to grace the game. An eight-time Ballon d'Or winner, he spent 21 years at Camp Nou, scoring 672 goals and providing 303 assists in 778 games.

​