Barcelona Legend Praises Real Madrid for Their Achievements

Lionel Messi, who has spent his entire career in Barcelona, feels that his rival club Real Madrid has still got the ability to win a game even if they perform badly.

Football news: It motivates me to see Madrid in the Champions League final, says Messi

The Los Blancos are preparing themselves for a third consecutive Champions League final where they are going to face Liverpool. Madrid have come to this stage after getting past the hurdles of Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus and Bayern Munich in the previous rounds.

Meanwhile one poor performance from Barcelona, where they lost against Roma 3-0 in an away game, saw them crash out of the competition on away goals in the quarterfinals stage.

In an interview with TyC Sports, Messi said, "Position by position, Madrid have the best players in the world. [Barca] do as well, but Madrid have something that only they have. When they play badly, they still get results. We have to be the far superior side to win.

"The Champions League [loss was a mistake]. Given the [4-1] advantage we had before the second leg, we [should have reached] the semifinal. It was a huge disappointment.

"[But] it motivates me to see Madrid in the Champions League final again; to see them winning leagues. I want to win the Champions League every year. I want to be a league champion every year — it's what we all want."

Despite losing out on the Champions League glory, Messi seemed happy as he recently signed an extension with his long-term club. Messi has often been linked to a transfer to Manchester City to play alongside his compatriot Sergio Aguero and under former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola.

But when questions on this prospect was asked, Messi said, "Me at City? No. … If we play together, it will be because he [Aguero] signs for Barcelona.

"I am not tempted to leave Barcelona. I won't find anywhere better than this for me. It's the best team in the world. Every year, I am fighting to win everything. I know that every year I will have personal challenges. I don't need to go anywhere to prove anything.

"It's true that you think about other leagues, you see the English league … but when it comes to making a decision, it would be really difficult to leave Barcelona. It's the best city in the world, my kids are happy and have all their friends here. There's no need for a change. Barca and Argentina are my two loves."

However Messi will still have a chance to play alongside Aguero for the national side as the 2018 FIFA World Cup is knocking at the door.

Messi was all in praise when asked about his former coach Pep Guardiola, and said that Pep has done a great job at the Etihad.

"Guardiola is one of the best coaches in the world," Messi said. "He makes you see things you don't see on the pitch. Aguero has grown a lot on a personal level with him. I see it when he plays. He's a different player now.

"It's the same with [Nicolas] Otamendi. He has grown so much. With Guardiola, he's reached the top level and right now he's one of the best [defenders] in the world. Having him [play for Argentina] is spectacular," said Messi.

Argentina will begin their World Cup journey against Iceland on June 16. They will tey to win their first World Cup since 1986, as they narrow missed it in the 2014 finals against Germany where they lost 1-0.