Former Barcelona assistant coach Juan Carlos Unzue has revealed his admiration of Lionel Messi’s longevity.

Unzue coached the Argentine as part of Luis Enrique’s backroom staff during their time in charge of Barcelona between 2014 and 2017.

“There’s one thing that I can’t get my head around about Leo: the ability that he had and he still has to maintain himself over time,” Unzue told Ole.

“The difficult thing isn’t becoming the best but maintaining yourself at the highest level and always trying to improve during your career.

“That is impressive.

“It’s not as if he wanted to be the best during matches, nor that he did everything to be the one making the difference.

“That ambition and that competitiveness shone through in each training session.

“You can’t imagine what he’s like in each session.

“What Leo did on Sundays, we were able to enjoy every day.

“Maintaining yourself over time includes taking care of yourself each day.

“People think that you’re the best because of natural talent, but talent improves itself over time and with hard work.

“He was always a boy who, despite his [physical] conditions, wanted to improve.”