Johan Cruyff believes Barcelona’s Lionel Messi has to do more for the team if he is to be regarded as a true great.
The Dutchman, who coached Barca to their first European success in 1992, has been impressed by the Argentinian forward, but believes there is more to come.
“For all the natural talent that he has, he still has to learn certain things that he does not yet have. Experience and his development as a person,” he told AS.
“As good as Messi may appear now, he still has to grow as a player and as a human being. His aim must be to be better than he is.
“To be better doesn’t mean scoring another incredible goal, it means helping those around you more.”
Cruyff sees similarities between Messi and Espanyol’s Ivan de la Pena.
“In a certain sense, Messi reminds me of what happened with Ivan de la Pena,” Cruyff continued.
“Everyone wanted him to make the final pass, the killer pass to create a goal, and I was obsessed that he could do that.
“For every ten balls you receive, play nine of them easily and keep one for yourself, maybe two at most.
“It should never be the other way round or you lose that element of surprise.”
