Leo Messi: 'It's been a spectacular year'

The FC Barcelona number 10 speaks to the press following his 500th career game with the Club

With FC Barcelona’s 4–0 victory over Real Betis at Camp Nou, the team closes 2015 in the best way possible: with three points and top spot in La Liga with 38 points

Leo Messi, who scored one of the goals and also played his 500th match in an FC Barcelona shirt, highlighted the difficulties against Betis: "It was a strange game, complicated. We found it tough to pick up the pace of the game, which is always hard after a few days of vacation. But we did the most important thing, which was to win tonight," Messi said.

The year 2015 has been a spectacular year for the club with five titles, a feat that Messi says will be difficult to repeat: "It is difficult to improve on what we have done this season but we want to do it. We have a great team with the ability to try to improve on 2015," he said.

"It was a spectacular year that we wanted to finish with a win," he continued. Messi is widely expected to win the Ballon d’Or in January, but he is not letting that affect him. "I don’t know anything about the Ballon d’Or," he said.

Here are what some of the other players had to say after the game.

Dani Alves

“Players that don’t take penalty kicks don’t miss them. That’s part of football.”

"The goal for this season is to compete to win every competition."

"I’m not going to be competing with Aleix Vidal. We all row in the same direction. We are all here to help the team to win every title we dispute. The team always comes first."

Sergi Roberto

"In sporting terms it has been a spectacular year with five titles won. It was also good for me personally because I got more minutes and gained confidence."

"It will be a month with a lot of games. Having everyone prepared will be very important for winning every game."

"In 2016 I hope all the players stay healthy and that we win many more titles."

Mascherano

"We are in the middle of the season and what occupies us is to continue working hard to win titles this season. The present and the future is what matters."

"We hope to reach the end of the season fighting for all three titles. I think we are still demonstrating that we intend to continue making history."

"We are prepared for what little rest lies ahead. We have played months like this January and February in previous seasons, so we are used to it. It’s a good sign because it means that we are moving in the right direction."

from News at FCB http://ift.tt/1IEJwXL