Lionel Messi to become an assist king at Barcelona after role swap

Lionel Messi has been predicted to become a midfielder by his former coach.

Former coach of both, Lionel Messi and Xavi Hernandez has tipped the Argentine to take over the latter’s role at Barcelona.

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Leo has been seen drifting on towards the midfield at Barca on multiple occasions. Many times this has been due to the club’s defenders and midfielders struggling to move the ball forward but at other times it is simply to the Argentine’s impeccable capabilities to create chances from midfield.

The skipper’s former coach under Pep Guardiola, Domenec Torrent, believes that he could change his playstyle in the near future and take over Barca’s midfield for the remainder of his career.

The club’s former captain, Xavi, had a dream Barca career, enjoying 17 beautiful years, during which time he won eight La Liga titles and 4 champions league trophies. The Spaniard was considered by many as the greatest midfielder of his generation especially after his performance under Guardiola’s XI during the golden era at Camp Nou.

The trio of Xavi, Messi, and Andres Iniesta saw the club winning every tournament they entered with the two midfielders greatly contributing to the Argentine’s success. Leo, however, has not stopped his goalscoring capabilities despite changes to the Catalan midfield over the years.

At 32 years of age, Leo will surely start to realize that his excellent footwork and ability to run past defenders with the ball glued to his feet may no longer be at its prime due to the physical challenges that come with the age.

Domenec Torrent, who has coached the player, has spoken to Spanish Publication, Ole, about the possibility of a role change for Barca’s No.10.

"“He’s a very intelligent player. Often, he drops deep to receive the ball. In a few years, he could play like Xavi if he wanted to. He doesn’t lose the ball, he gives assists, he has taken care of his body throughout his career. If he plays in a deeper position when he logically starts losing pace, he could play as a central midfielder or wherever he wants to and he would do well.” Torrent told Ole.Source Goal"

Even during the days when he is not the best, the Argentine captain has been better than the rest playing alongside him. In the near future, we may in fact see him embrace his age and drop down to the midfield to continue helping Barca reach the glory they desire.

There is no doubt that Leo is a goalscorer after scoring 627 goals so far in his career but one should not forget that he is among the top providers to goals as well with 261 assists to his name thus far.

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Can you imagine Barca’s formation with Frenkie de Jong, Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets in the midfield?

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