What's the story?
Barcelona legend, Xavi Hernandez, has expressed his confidence in Lionel Messi's ability to lead the Catalan giants to a Champions League title, stating that the Argentine talisman will surely add to their European trophy cabinet in the years to come.
In case you didn't know
Pep Guardiola, who started a revolution when he became Barcelona manager in 2008, led the Catalan giants to two Champions League titles during his four-year stint. The Spaniard has since struggled in the European competition, failing to inspire Bayern Munich and current side Manchester City to the prestigious continental title.
Barcelona themselves have had a difficult time in Europe with the last three years having been dominated by arch-rivals Real Madrid. Despite having won LaLiga this season, the Catalans failed to take advantage of their historic rivals' Champions League exit and crashed out of the competition themselves.
The Spanish champions squandered a three-goal lead and allowed Liverpool to overcome the deficit with a 4-0 win in the second leg of their semi-final fixture in the competition.
The heart of the matter
Xavi has lamented that Barcelona should have won more Champions League titles under Guardiola but believes that Messi will bring the European trophy to Camp Nou soon.
According to Calciomercato, he said,
"Before Pep we had won only one Champions League. We could have won more, but it is always very complex to do so."
"The Barcelona of Guardiola was the best, superior to the other teams, but we only won two Champions out of four, because Inter and Chelsea eliminated us, but I'm sure Messi will win others."
Inter Milan conquered Barcelona by winning 3-1 at the San Siro in 2010. Chelsea, on the other hand, eliminated the Catalans with a 2-3 aggregate win in 2012.
What's next?
Barcelona is set to achieve a domestic treble if they win against Valencia in the Copa del Rey final this weekend.