West Ham boss David Moyes backs Lionel Messi to Man City transfer - 'It'd be incredible' (Image: Getty)
David Moyes thinks it would be “incredible” for Lionel Messi to play in the Premier League as Manchester City continue to be linked with the six-time Ballon d’Or winner. Messi caused a storm at Camp Nou earlier this week after responding angrily to claims made by Barcelona sporting director Eric Abidal.
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“The era of football we are in with Messi and Ronaldo, two unbelievable footballers.
“We have missed one of them in the Premier League but I hope, maybe, it will happen.
“I was fortunate to come up against him in Spain [as Real Sociedad manager] a couple of times and I can tell you, he is even better close up.”
Messi ignited the fire in Catalonia on Tuesday night as he responded to an interview from Abidal in which he claimed that many players “didn’t work hard” under former boss Ernesto Valverde, who was sacked in January.
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Commenting on a screen-grab of the interview on his Instagram story, Messi wrote to his 142 million followers: “I honestly don’t like to do these things but I think everyone has to be responsible for their tasks and take care of their decisions.
“The players are responsible for what happens on the pitch, and we are also the first to acknowledge when we were not good.
"Those responsible for the area of sports management must also assume their responsibilities and above all take charge of the decisions they make.
“Finally, I think that when talking about players, we should give names because otherwise we are getting everyone dirty and feeding things that are said and are not true.”
Lionel Messi was infuriated with Barcelona chief Eric Abidal earlier in the week (Image: Getty)