Lionel Messi: Barcelona forward hails Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak as ‘one of best goalkeepers in the world’ | Football News

Lionel Messi has responded to Jan Oblak’s admiration for him – unique to Sky Sports activities – with some excessive reward of his personal.

The Barcelona star believes the Atletico Madrid goalkeeper is without doubt one of the finest on the earth in the present day and says he relishes their battles in La Liga.

“It is good to face each other,” he stated. “He is without doubt one of the finest goalkeepers on the earth for the time being, and it is all the time good to struggle in opposition to the very best ones.

“It is an additional motivation to have the ability to, or to attempt to, rating a aim, with what it means and the way exhausting it’s, as he proves in each recreation he performs.

“So it is good to see him outdoors but in addition face him within the video games. It makes them extra thrilling.”

Oblak spoke completely to Sky Sports activities about what makes Messi such a formidable foe after the Argentina star broke Pele’s all-time single membership goal-scoring report this week together with his 644th for Barcelona.

The Slovenia No 1 was talking not lengthy after his group’s 1-0 win over Barcelona, their first in opposition to Messi and the remainder in La Liga for over a decade.

Oblak received that one however there have too many defeats, too many late Messi targets, for him to be something aside from humble. “He’s nonetheless the very best participant on the earth,” he insisted.

In all competitions, there have been three clear sheets, together with a 2-0 win in a Champions League quarter-final. “For certain, that was my finest reminiscence in opposition to him,” he stated. However that was one recreation amongst 17; ten of them have seen a Messi shot discover its method past Oblak.

“He has scored many targets in opposition to me. Too many!” He stated. “However he is a good participant, a tremendous participant, the very best participant.

“There are a lot of instances that he scores a aim and you’ve got this sense that you simply can not perceive how he has scored so simply. You aren’t even shut. Typically it seems like he has simply handed the ball into the aim, it isn’t even a shot.”