Historic players such as Leo Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, usually don't care about climate adversity when they travel to other countries or cities to face difficult opponents. This upcoming week, FC Barcelona will visit the city of Manchester to play against Pep Guardiola's Citizens and there may be some cold weather or rain, but according to Barcelona midfielder Denis Suarez, this is not a problem for Leo who can play anywhere at the same level.
When asked by the Observer, Suarez said: "Of course he could [perform]. He'd pick up the ball, dribble past three players and hit it into the top corner. I've seen him seen him do it here in the rain, I've seen him do it in the midday sun. He does it where he wants, when he wants. Messi's unique. Put him in any team in the world and he'd be the best, just the same. And against English teams it usually goes OK for him."
He continued: "Barca is a role model for every club: everyone wants to play like them. Well, they can try. Barca hasn't come about in two years. It's years of building an identity, staying faithful to a philosophy, the kids in the academy playing like the first team. City will try to do that. I know, I was there. They showed me the project, everything they wanted to do. They have the structure and the ability. Now they've signed a coach who'll help them do that.
"You can see that Pep's giving young players a chance. When I was there it was a bit different, it was the more physical players who went up to the first team. It was about strength. The reserves played a more direct style, almost long ball forward, look for the second ball. When Attilio [Lombardo] took over we tried to play a little differently but things didn't change much. The way the first team play now is magnificent; Pep's changed the philosophy. They already played attacking football but now it's more about possession, emphasizing the importance of having the ball."
Photo credit: FC Barcelona