"There are so many Messi performances that stick with me, but if I had to choose one, it would be the Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid in 2011.
"It was the first leg, at the Bernabeu. Jose Mourinho had us playing in this long grass; we could see they were going for a goalless draw.
"Leo scored the first, then set off on this Maradona-style run, dribbling past opponents. He was on his own against Lassana Diarra, against Xabi Alonso, against Raul Albiol, against Sergio Ramos, and he managed to beat them all.
"We didn’t play any football that day. Nothing was happening. And then Messi turned up. That was what he could do.
"Our team play could be stuttering but we had the trump card of the best player in history. Messi won matches for us on his own."
Xavi lauds his former Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi in his first column for The Athletic.
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