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19th Jan 2016

FINALLY – Lionel Messi is asked if he can do it on a wet Wednesday night at Stoke

The ultimate test

Conan Doherty

Five Ballon d’Ors aren’t to be snuffed at but there will forever remain question marks over Lionel Messi’s career.

Yes, he’s good. Yes, he scores some goals, provides a few assists and a couple of beautiful moments for the highlights reel in every game. All of that nonsense.

But the Argentine has never done any of that at the Britannia Stadium. Ever. He’s never faced Stoke City on a cold and wet midweek night away from home.

How can he ever be judged as a footballer until he does so?

The question was put to Messi’s former team-mate Bojan Krkic during an interview with Guillem Balague on Sky Sports.

UD Almeria v Barcelona - La Liga

“Messi can do it,” Bojan bellied. “I understand that teams don’t like to come to the Britannia Stadium, especially in winter with the wind, the cold, and we’re a strong team. It’s not easy. But I try to enjoy it and I try to improve my football in that situation.”

And Messi isn’t scared of the big bad Stoke either as Balague revealed when he told Bojan: “I asked Messi about that.”

“He said, ‘Those people that say that should realise I played in awful conditions in Rosario when I was 11 years old, with glass on the pitch, with holes and everything.’ And he also played good.”