Messi: I don't play to be the best

Posted Wednesday, March 14, 2012 by ESPN

Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi declares that he plays football for his team, then the fans - and not to be the best footballer of all time.

The 24-year-old continued his amazing scoring streak over the weekend with two more goals against Racing Santander to gift his side a 2-0 win and reach the 50-goal tally in 43 games this season.

His phenomenal strike rate puts him five goals away from equalling Barcelona legend Cesar Rodriguez's all-time club record of 235 goals but Messi remains aloof and denies that he plays with a purpose to become the world's best.

"I'm not setting any deadlines to do it," he said at a press conference, "I don't play to be the best footballer of all time. I play to do things well.

"First, I play for my team, then for the people and then for myself," said the three-time winner of the Ballon d'Or, "I feel good when things work out."

Messi has scored seven goals in four days - five against Bayer Leverkusen and two against Racing Santander. His five-goal performance against the Germans earned him worldwide praise from press and football players alike but he remains humble in the face of the compliments.

"It's a beautiful thing that colleagues from other clubs talk about me in this manner. From here, I thank them," said Messi.

When asked who the most important figure was for the first team, himself or Guardiola, there was no doubt in Messi's answer: "Guardiola is more important than I am for Barca. From the moment he arrived he changed everything for us. He's won everything that he's won. For me Guardiola has been fundamental in this FC Barcelona project."

He added: "We want Guardiola to continue for everyone's good. It would be very difficult to find another manager that can accomplish what he has, what he's won and how he's made this team play."

With a 10-point gap between the Barcelona and Real Madrid, the title fight seems to be over in Spain, but Messi insists that the Nou Camp side will continue to battle on

He commented: "We have to try and win all the games we have left. There are still important things to play for. For our good, we have to continue with this mentality."

The Blaugrana are 10 points behind Real Madrid in La Liga table but are 16 points ahead of third-placed Valencia.

Barcelona are also into the quarter-finals of the Champions League after beating Bayer Leverkusen 10-2 on aggregate.