Barcelona are ‘more dependent’ on Lionel Messi than they have ever been before, says ex-Blaugrana star Bernd Schuster.
Even at the age of 33, Messi continues to exhibit figures and performances far beyond anything normal for Barcelona.
The six-time Ballon d’Or winner may have missed the opening four games of this season, but he still comfortably finished as LaLiga’s top-scorer. This won him a record seventh Pichichi Trophy in the process.
What made Messi’s stats truly remarkable, though, was how he registered 25 goals and 21 assists. Thierry Henry is the only other player known to have achieved a similar feat, having managed 24 goals and 20 assists for Arsenal in the 2002/03 Premier League campaign.
Plus, the way Messi jinked his way through the Napoli defense to score in last weekend’s 3-1 victory in the Champions League rightfully won him plenty of plaudits.
But while the Argentine performing at such an extraordinary level is always welcome for Barcelona, Schuster fears there is a downside to it as well.
The German, who made 177 appearances between 1980 to 1988 for the Blaugrana, believes his old side has become too reliant on Messi. Therefore, he expects trouble if Leo isn’t performing to usual standards against Bayern Munich on Friday.
Quique Setien’s men will meet the Bundesliga champions in a quarter-final clash for the Champions League in Lisbon.
“Barcelona are more dependent on Messi than they have ever been,” Schuster told Bild.
“Messi can still win games on his own. He has the quality to score goals against Bayern and decide the game on his own.
“There are only two options for Barcelona this season, that Messi scores the goal or that they have a world-class day in the game without the ball.”