Paul Scholes: Lionel Messi looks bored at Barcelona

Former Manchester United and England midfielder Paul
Scholes, who was in Mestalla last weekend to watch
Barcelona's 1-0 win over Valencia, has said he "detected a
mood of boredom" about Lionel Messi.
Scholes, part of the United squads that lost the 2009 and 2011
Champions League finals to Pep Guardiola's men, wrote in
his column for " target="_blank">The Independent: "They were
undoubtedly the best team in the world [under Guardiola].
"When I went to watch them in Valencia, for much of the
game I felt they were a ghost of the side they had once been.
They won the game in injury time but even in those final
stages they hardly created chances. They still pass the ball
relentlessly, but that old drive and tempo are not nearly as
urgent."
On Messi, Scholes said: "When I try to find a way of
summarising the attitude of the team, I keep alighting on the
word 'bored.' And above all, Leo Messi. In him, as much as
anyone, I detected that mood of boredom. He has never been
a player given to chasing the full-back when his team lose the
ball, but now, more than ever, he keeps his movement to an
absolute minimum."
The former midfielder also had empathy for coach Luis
Enrique, who took charge of the club in the summer.
"For a young manager like Luis Enrique, it will be hard to
change the way Messi, and the rest of the stars in this team,
play the game," he wrote. "They have won it all. They have
conquered the world. Now Enrique has to find a way of
persuading them to do it all over again."
Scholes said that in his view, although he stressed it was just
one game, the Barcelona team that Guardiola built has
reached the end of its cycle, and now Enrique has to find a
new system for his players to follow.
Lastly, Scholes addressed the Ballon d'Or: "Both Cristiano
[Ronaldo] and Messi are fantastic players, but in a World
Cup year I think a Germany player should win it. Thomas
Muller, Toni Kroos and Bastian Schweinsteiger are excellent
players, but if I had to choose one my player of the year
would be Schweinsteiger."
Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was selected on the
three-man shortlist along with Ronaldo and Messi.