My parents were skeptical about me becoming a footballer and encouraged me to study.

Leo Messi is a spectacular player, there is nobody else like him. I should not because I have suffered so much in training. I think he is the best forward at the moment and I think he will be so for many more years. He has his feet on the ground.

My parents were skeptical about me becoming a footballer and encouraged me to study.

There's a special part of Messi's brain allowing him to see the split-second chaos of football in his own personal super slow motion.

I don't have Romário's technique, [Marc] Overmars' pace or [Patrick] Kluivert's strength. But I work harder than the others. I'm like the student who is not as clever, but revises for his exams and does OK in the end.

FC Barcelona is the national team of Catalonia