Wednesday, 29th October, 2014



Former Real Madrid sporting director Jorge Valdano feels Lionel Messi has become less influential on the pitch.

Messi failed to exert his influence and picked up a yellow card as Barcelona slumped to a 3-1 defeat against their bitter rivals Real Madrid last Saturday.




And Valdano feels that it is evident that Messi is a lot less influential this season at Barcelona and said that he has lost his destructive ability to tear apart defences.

"Looking at the last game, Messi is a little off-form”, the Argentine told Radio Marca.
 


“His position has changed on the pitch and now his job is more to provide assists, but he has lost his ability to disrupt the defence – something which used to solve many past games for Barca."  

relatedNewsStory

Though Messi collected the Golden Ball at the World Cup, Valdano feels that his performances in Brazil suggested that he was not at his peak physical condition.

"In the Brazil World Cup we saw that something was up with Messi; he walked around the pitch.

"He was physically not at his best and maybe that is the reason for playing further back, to not tire himself so much."

Don't bet on football until you've visited Inside Bet! Interesting markets, top tips, betting facts – get all the info before you bet.