Valverde marvels at Lionel Messi as Barcelona star continues to shine

Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde has heaped praise on the performances of Lionel Messi in the lead-up to the La Liga clash against Real Sociedad. The Blaugrana recently progress to the semi-final stage of the Champions League after a 4-0 aggregate triumph over Manchester United and Messi made a key contribution towards the outcome with a brace in the second leg.

Speaking in a pre-match conference, Valverde said that the club are enjoying the performances of Messi, who recently scored 40 goals for the tenth successive season, he said: "I would like to have an assortment of words but what can I say about Leo? He is breaking all the records, and those he will still beat. He makes the public always expect something special from him, and he delivers it. We know what he is, what he means from a global point of view and we are enjoying that."