Messi’s love of Iniesta

In an extract from new book The Artist: Being Iniesta, Lionel Messi discusses his unique relationship with Andres Iniesta and reveals what makes his Barcelona team-mate such a special player…

He speaks slowly, in no hurry. If it is to talk about his friend Andrés, he has all the time in the world. Training is over and Leo Messi appears showered and relaxed. “I heard people talking about Andrés virtually from the moment I arrived at Barcelona. I didn’t meet him at La Masia. I would go there to eat but we rarely crossed paths because I was preparing for my Bachillerato exams at the time. There are three years between us. Then I saw him in training sessions more than games. But he has always been the same, as a person and a player,” he says.

There’s something about Andrés that Messi admires, something that makes him seem almost ageless. “I always picture him with the ball at his feet. That’s the way I have got used to seeing him. He does everything well, with simplicity. At times, it may look like he’s not doing anything, but in fact he’s doing it all. Everything is different with Andrés. The hardest thing to do in football is to make it look like everything is easy, effortless, and that’s …

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