And if you asked the Real Madrid fans that same question you’d get exactly the same answer.

Sick of being second best to Barcelona, sick of football they view as pragmatic they want their cake and to eat it.

With champagne, and golden spoons and second helpings.

But if you asked the President, Florentino Pérez or Madrid’s debutant coach, Rafa Benítez the same ‘just what is it that you want to do?’ question the answer might be different.

Much more pragmatic.

Thursday’s Champions League draw gives them a group perfectly balanced not only for an assault on Europe but for the right kind of early season test.

Paris St Germain have shown over the last three seasons with Barcelona and Chelsea [ten games, two wins, four draws, four defeats] that they are on the rise and that they can threaten anyone on their day.

Not a side Madrid have to fear but one which will mean Los Blancos will need to focus and find top gear [no Primal Scream reference there] in order to subdue.

Madrid start at home, and their first away trip is far easier and less tiring than PSG’s.

Their final group game is at home and against, nominally, the weakest team. Even the schedule is on their side.

However, and this might be heretical, is winning the Champions League actually Benitez’s priority?

‘Just what is it you want me to do, Florentino?’ might well be Rafa’s question to the Madrid President.

Los Blancos have won the Spanish title twice in the last eight years.

Their fans and some of their ‘cyclops-vision’ media not only crave it, they crave the opportunity to wave two fingers at their city neighbours, Atlético, who won the title more recently, and Barcelona, who’ve dominated La Liga for a decade.

More, Carlo Ancelotti was shown the door in the summer just 12 months after winning the Champions League so dramatically against Atleti.

A victory which, if you consider the alternative for Madrid, should really have earned him another five years of job safety at the Bernabéu. It didn’t.

Major League Concerns

So whatever the sheen of Madrid’s history says, whatever the threat of Barça closing the European Cup gap between them still further Rafa Benítez must prioritise doing something he’s not achieved since the last time he coached in Spain, eleven years ago – winning the title.

Will that undermine trying to win La undécima? Madrid’s eleventh Champions Cup?

The answer lies with Ronaldo. Whatever the club’s ambitions he wants more Champions Leagues, he wants to haul Messi back in the Ballon D’Or voting and, judging by his variety of sour looks in Monte Carlo on Thursday, he wants to win the UEFA Best Player In Europe back.

Vitally, too, Ronaldo wants to edge ahead of Messi with whom he’s tied at 77 goals apiece at the top of the all-time Champions League scoring list.

With nine games of Rafa in charge Madrid have failed to score on five occasions, usually with Ronaldo absent.

So, I think there’s some fun in the Ronaldo-Messi betting.

The End of His Ron

Ronaldo has significantly outscored his rival over the last four Champions League seasons – by nine.

The last time Messi beat Ronaldo to UCL top scorer was in 2011/12 – coincidentally the last time he had a shot at Bayer Leverkusen or Bate, Barça’s new group rivals.

Against Bernd Leno, Leverkusen keeper, Messi scored six in two matches. In Borisov he put two past BATE.

Clues for this season?

Ronaldo hasn’t faced [and thus not scored against!] any of Madrid’s group rivals.

So, a priori, it might be worth an investment that Messi outscores Ronaldo this Uefa season, finishes Champions League top scorer and, thus, establishes the all-time lead.

Valencia, qualifiers, have a group in which Zenit and Lyon are both within Los Che’s orbit – beatable but, equally, capable of exploiting Nuno Espirito Santo’s team if they perform dozily.

The key to qualification is taking at least seven points from the first three games – home to Zenit, away to Lyon and then home to the weakest club, Gent.

In fact having home then away back-to-back matches with the Belgians is manna from heaven in terms of qualifying for the knockouts.

If you run a fantasy football team or like to look for less than obvious scorers then think about Sofiane Feghouli who just loves Uefa football and consistently rises to the challenge.

Their Group to Luis

Barcelona, who I think are capable of being the first to retain this competition, were given a draw that the naive think was wonderful but which will concern Luis Enrique.

Ex coach of Roma he’ll understand how hostile it is there and that starting at the Olympic Stadium in Italy’s capital is no ‘gimme’.

That their third fixture is also away, in Belorussia, means that the reigning champions need to start with concentration and hunger.

You’re laughing at me? BATE Borisov you splutter?

Beat Athletic Bilbao last season, thumped Bayern Munich the season before. BATE better than Barça, no. A niggly little test, yes.

And Now For Sevilla And Atlético

Which leaves the two sides who play at the Sanchez Pizjuan on Sunday night [19.30, Sky] – Sevilla and Atlético.

Atleti catch Benfica [whose striker Jonas didn’t mind a goal or an assist against the Colchoneros during his time with Valencia] at a good time given their consistent sales policy and the loss of influential coach Jorge Jesus.

Galatasaray and Astana carry their levels of threat/difficulty but Diego Simeone’s side is so hard working, so well balanced and so bloody stubborn that they’ll win the group regardless.

Sevilla? Well aside from the €20m cash windfall of qualifying the Champions League has brought them the reality of fighting for elbow room at Europe’s elite table.

Manchester City, Juventus and Borussia Mönchengladbach [who Sevilla put out of Europe last season] may prove too much for qualification, especially after losing three key players in Vidal, M’Bia and Bacca and needing to integrate new guys like Immobile, Konoplyanka and Llorente.

But, could Sevilla surprise everyone again by qualifying? Might they even retain the Europa League for the second consecutive time if not?

This Weekend

As for Sunday, it’s now six Liga and Cup matches since Sevilla beat Atleti at home.

There’s ill feeling between the sides who jostle to be considered third best in Spain – nearly eight bookings per match, average, over the last four meetings if you are a card-counter.

A splurge of reds in the Copa a couple of seasons ago.

Sevilla are nobody’s mugs though having lost just once at home since March 2014 [2-3 to a Ronaldo hat trick in May]

Griezmann, Llorente and a Coke/Koke any time might pay.

Score draw. 2-2 at 14/1.

Atleti: Oblak; Juanfran, Godín, Gímenez, Felipe; Koke, Gabi, Tiago; Oliver; Griezmann, Torres/Jackson
Sevilla: Beto: Coke, Rami, Kolo, Tremoulinas: Banega, Krykowiak: Vitolo, Iborra, Reyes: Immobile/Llorente

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Football, the ultimate team sport, is once again under his thumb.

Since January 4 this year Juve, as a squad, have scored 60 times in all three of their competitions.

Since January 4 Messi, alone, has scored 36 and given 14 goal assists – it’s completely remarkable.

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He ripped up the Copa del Rey final last weekend with two beautiful goals and a clever part in the third.

When the big games arrive – so does Lionel Andrés.

One of my early interviews with him was Autumn 2006 when he was admitting that it had been a flash of temper which made him refuse to go down to the pitch in Paris and celebrate with his team mates after Barça beat Arsenal in the Champions League final.

Not being named in the match squad by Frank Rijkaard had absolutely infuriated him.

He closed that subject with a:

God willing I’ll be back to lift that trophy a few times in the future.

Well, he’s had the opportunity twice and in both 2009 and 2011 he took that opportunity by scoring past Edwin Van Der Sar twice.

Not a bad record. (Ex Juventus keeper Van Der Sar was 38 when he first conceded to Messi in a Champions League final, Gigi Buffon is 37).

But add this context. Messi has played in 23 ‘final’ matches for Barcelona – 12 ‘one-off’ finals and 11 other ‘home-and-away’ finals. 23 matches … 20 Messi goals.

Of those 18 finals he’s only lost three.

And it might guide you to know that the only one-game finals Barcelona have lost with Messi in their side are the ones where he hasn’t scored – the 2006 Spanish Supercup and the Spanish Copa finals of 2011 and 2014.

Stop Messi and you have a chance – that’s the message.

During 2015 he’s shown his big-game mentality. Goals home and away against the reigning champions – Atlético. Goals in key matches against Valencia, Sevilla, Athletic and the Catalan derby with Espanyol plus a nifty assist for the first goal against Madrid in the Clásico.

Notwithstanding all that – IF you want to oppose him, oppose Barça then perhaps there’s a gentle hint.

He’s gone from having scored eight in six Champions League games during the 2014 group stage to having scored twice in six games in the 2015 knock-out matches.

Okay – he was just stunning despite not scoring in the home win over Manchester City

And the two he did get, plus an assist, were in the epic 3-0 semi-final win over Bayern.

But, figure it as you wish, there’s been a drop-off in him hitting the net in the Champions League this calendar year.

So, how do you rate the test that lies in front of him?

He’s never played Juventus competitively, never played Italy either. Thus it is that despite he and Buffon having played well over 1500 competitive club and international matches between them they’ve never gone toe-to-toe.

Who wins – the good big one or the great little one? Lucky it’s not boxing.

Might Buffon (below) in any way intimidate Messi – it’s not so ludicrous?

Messi’s penalty misses tend to come against keepers he thinks loom large in the goal. Something he once told me about Abbiatti at Milan.

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Speaking of Milan, Messi’s faced the defensive strategies of Juve coach Maxi Allegri eight times in the Champions League when he’s been in charge of the Rossoneri. Eight times, eight goals.

Where else might there be some fun? I pointed out last week that Barcelona have just begun to drift a little from nearly an entire season of excellence defending set plays or the ball into the box from open play.

But conceding like that to Bayern, Deportivo La Coruña and now Athletic [Iñaki Williams] in the Copa final tends to indicate that this is where Juve will surely concentrate. Chiellini, Pogba, Vidal, Morata all look like goalscorer candidates.

Of the two golden veterans, Pirlo (above) and Xavi, only the Italian is sure to start. But is Iniesta fully fit after his calf problem? Might Xavi get some game time? Probably, yes.

Pirlo scoring a direct free kick ain’t the daftest idea, Pirlo perhaps winning the MVP [if there’s a market on that] isn’t outright crazy.

Xavi said last week:

I adore watching Pirlo play, we’ve been facing each other for club and country since we were kids.

They’ll probably be playing together in Qatar from next season.

So, Xavi? Well he has a remarkable record. Goal assists in each of the two Champions League finals in which he’s played. A goal assist in each of the two European Championship Finals in which he’s played.

A goal and a goal-assist in two of this three Copa Finals against Athletic Bilbao, a goal against Juventus the last time they faced each other, a goal assist in the World Cup semi final, a goal and an assist in the World Club Cup final.

If he’s on the pitch at any stage on Saturday night then you might want to back him as an anytime goalscorer.

This is quite possibly Barcelona’s tightest final since Sampdoria took them to extra-time in 1992.

I reckon both teams to score. Then either 2-1 Barcelona or 2-2 and penalties. But if Messi wants it, if Messi performs – don’t back against him. It’s that simple.

Graham’s best bets:

• Both teams to score and Barcelona to win @13/5
• Barcelona to win 2-1 @ 12/1. 

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• Saturday, 15.00

Some might be tempted to follow the creaks in the Atletico system over the last three games and try to identify a San Andreas Fault. I’d say that’s wrong.

Defeats to Real Madrid and Almeria were hugely embarrassing and a dramatic swing away from their robust, hard-to-beat form of the last two seasons. But the likely return of Thibaut Courtois in goal and Diego Costa returning from suspension are hugely influential. Equally, Raul Garcia (above) playing second striker, as he’s likely to do, rescues him from a much less comfortable area of operation – wide on the flank, which he’s not been enjoying. There are injuries, tension (with the Milan Champions League tie almost upon them) but oodles of character, tenacity and scoring potential to bank on. Atletico Madrid to win.

Barcelona v Rayo Vallecano

• Saturday,19.00

While it’s feasible that Paco Jemez’s tremendous, ‘bold’ proposition in terms of front foot play home and away, ball possession and buccaneer spirit might well get them a goal or two it’s not easy to see beyond Barcelona winning and scoring three or four. Messi is a split second or two faster over the last couple of games than he’s been since returning and that’s led to a splurge of goals.

Perhaps even more importantly Andres Iniesta is not only restored to midfield but looking fresh and able to ‘boss’ things. Pedro and Alexis, too, look sharp, sharp. Entertainment, yes. Some thrills, yes. But a two-goal win and a goal total to make this a game worth watching. Barca to win (by two goals if you fancy this bet).

Levante v Almeria

• Saturday,17.00

Two things seem to scream out about this fixture. One, it profiles as a lovable chance of a score draw and two – if Levante get their noses in front they’ll present Almeria with a tough uphill battle.

There’s little to choose between these sides in terms of goalscoring, quality and if anything the absolutely superb boost in morale for the Andalucians in defeating a docile Atletico last week will have mended drooping confidence and sore limbs. Joaquin Caparros’ (above) side is more vulnerable due to the absences of Nikos Karampelas, Loukas Vyntra, Andreas Ivanschitz e Issam El Adoua. Neither side will be unhappy with a draw. 1-1 is the bet.

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Villarreal v Celta de Vigo

• Saturday,21.00

Everything hinges on how Villarreal cope with the absence of injured keeper Sergio Asenjo. They play fast, attacking football and give up chances. But thanks to the top form of the ex Atletico and Valladolid goalie they’ve only conceded three more goals than second placed Madrid. Juan Carlos takes over and will need to excel.

Celta play a very similar attacking, risky football – but possess significantly less quality in all departments than the Yellow Submarine. Should Villarreal control the midfield through Bruno and if Gio has his day then a) this should be fun to watch and b) it profiles as a 3-1 home win … IF Juan Carlos (above) doesn’t have stage fright. Villareal to win (3-1 if you fancy a scorecast).

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The second-leg at the Nou Camp will give the Catalan giants the chance to make up for what was a below-par performance in Italy last month.

Much has been made about the state of the pitch at the San Siro in the first encounter between these two sides, with Barca unhappy with what they believe were tactics to stop them playing their passing game.

On the pristine surface at the Nou Camp, which is akin to greens we will see at Augusta for the Masters this week, Barcelona (6/5 Champions League outright) will have no problems playing their own free-flowing football that will make Milan work hard for a sniff of the ball.

The likes of Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta were kept off the scoresheet during the first leg, as Milan produced a dogged performance to stop the La Liga outfit getting that crucial away goal.

With the fact that goals could count as double for Milan (22/1 Champions League outright) when they make the trip to Spain, will be a worrying factor for Barca mastermind Pep Guardiola.

And there were chances for AC strikers Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Robinho in the first-leg, so the home side will have to be extra vigilant in defence if they don’t want to get stung by their Serie A opposition this week.

The last time Milan played away from home in the Champions League they were played off the park by Arsenal at the Emirates.

In that 3-0 defeat to the Gunners, Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri saw his side go from an accomplished European outfit to a rabble, who allowed Arsenal to dominate proceeding in north London and the Premier League side were unlucky not to go through.

Milan will have learned lessons from that but it?s hard to look past Barcelona reaching the semi-finals, especially on a decent pitch at the Nou Camp.

In Tuesday’s other quarter-final encounter, Bayern Munich have the task of seeing off the job against Marseille at the Allianz Arena (Bayern 2/7, draw 9/2, Milan 10/1 – 90 minutes).

The Bundesliga giants made light work of beating  their Ligue 1 opponents in the first leg in the south of France and are deservedly firm favourites to go through to the next round, to most likely face Real Madrid.

With Mario Gomez, Frank Ribery and Arjen Robben, who is coming back into form, Bayern (9/2 Champions League outright) should have no problem in seeing out their 2-0 advantage from the first-leg.

Marseille manager Didier Deschamps would surely be out of a job were it not for his side’s Champions League journey, considering their miserable form in recent weeks.

Bayern supporters should have no fears of not only going through to the final four of the competition on Tuesday but also winning the game on the night in Bavaria.

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The second-leg at the Nou Camp will give the Catalan giants the chance to make up for what was a below-par performance in Italy last month.

Much has been made about the state of the pitch at the San Siro in the first encounter between these two sides, with Barca unhappy with what they believe were tactics to stop them playing their passing game.

On the pristine surface at the Nou Camp, which is akin to greens we will see at Augusta for the Masters this week, Barcelona (6/5 Champions League outright) will have no problems playing their own free-flowing football that will make Milan work hard for a sniff of the ball.

The likes of Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta were kept off the scoresheet during the first leg, as Milan produced a dogged performance to stop the La Liga outfit getting that crucial away goal.

With the fact that goals could count as double for Milan (22/1 Champions League outright) when they make the trip to Spain, will be a worrying factor for Barca mastermind Pep Guardiola.

And there were chances for AC strikers Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Robinho in the first-leg, so the home side will have to be extra vigilant in defence if they don’t want to get stung by their Serie A opposition this week.

The last time Milan played away from home in the Champions League they were played off the park by Arsenal at the Emirates.

In that 3-0 defeat to the Gunners, Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri saw his side go from an accomplished European outfit to a rabble, who allowed Arsenal to dominate proceeding in north London and the Premier League side were unlucky not to go through.

Milan will have learned lessons from that but it?s hard to look past Barcelona reaching the semi-finals, especially on a decent pitch at the Nou Camp.

In Tuesday’s other quarter-final encounter, Bayern Munich have the task of seeing off the job against Marseille at the Allianz Arena (Bayern 2/7, draw 9/2, Milan 10/1 – 90 minutes).

The Bundesliga giants made light work of beating  their Ligue 1 opponents in the first leg in the south of France and are deservedly firm favourites to go through to the next round, to most likely face Real Madrid.

With Mario Gomez, Frank Ribery and Arjen Robben, who is coming back into form, Bayern (9/2 Champions League outright) should have no problem in seeing out their 2-0 advantage from the first-leg.

Marseille manager Didier Deschamps would surely be out of a job were it not for his side’s Champions League journey, considering their miserable form in recent weeks.

Bayern supporters should have no fears of not only going through to the final four of the competition on Tuesday but also winning the game on the night in Bavaria.

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Lionel Messi

The little Argentine blew away rumours that he was in crisis with successive hat tricks against Real Mallorca last weekend and against Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League in midweek – Messi is 6/1 to score another hat-trick on Sunday.

The striker now has 22 goals in 17 games this season and surpassed 200 on Wednesday to become Barca’s second all-time goal scorer. He now has an incredible 202 goals in just 286 appearances and is understandably 2/1 favourite to score first at San Mames.

Despite his latest accolade the 24-year-old has already switched his attentions to Bilbao, with Barca a point behind Real Madrid at the top of the La Liga – keen to improve on some unconvincing away form.

Indeed Pep Guardiola’s men could begin the game four points behind their great rivals, with Real tackling Osasuna earlier in the day (Match Betting –R Madrid 1/12, draw 9/1, Osasuna 20/1).

“The most important thing is to win the three points this weekend because it’s a very difficult stadium to win at,” said Messi. “They are a great team, they study their rivals in depth, and they aren’t afraid to take the game to you.

“I’m not aiming to break the record this year. I hope to do it someday seeing that I want to stay here for the rest of my career. I feel great physically, strong enough to play as many games as possible, like last year.”

Messi and his team-mates travel to the Basque country (Match Betting – Athletic 10/1, draw 9/2, Barcelona 1/4) to play an Athletic side, who have recovered from a poor start to the season.

Marcelo Bielsa’s men are unbeaten in nine games across all competitions and have risen to ninth in the La Liga standings.

Bielsa will hope that star striker Fernando Llorente will be fit enough to last the 90 minutes. The striker has been struggling with a knee injury in recent weeks but showed why he is so important for Los Leones with two goals in their last league game at San Mames against Atletico Madrid 10 days ago (Llorente 10/1 to score first).

Scoring will be a whole lot tougher on Sunday though as they become the latest club to try and beat Victor Valdes, who broke a club record in midweek by going 787 minutes without conceding a goal stretching back to mid-September. It is no surprise then that Barca are at 8/11 to keep yet another clean sheet.

The Catalan giants have also comfortably outscored their opponents this season, scoring 32 goals to Athletic’s 15, suggesting any goal-fest could be distinctly one sided – a 4-0 Barcelona victory is 11/1.

Don’t expect Bilbao to sit back and try and contain their illustrious opponents though, striker Oscar de Marcos insists his side will go out for the win.

“We have had a very good run recently,” the striker told Sport.”We know that to beat Barca is very difficult, but we will try to get the three points. We will not go for the draw, we will do our best and enjoy the game.”

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A draw will be enough to see Colombia through on Sunday and that would mean the Costa Ricans can follow them into the knock-out stages by holding the under-performing Argentines to their third successive draw of the group stage (5/1 Draw 90 Minutes).

With a game of huge meaning looming large, Argentina coach Sergio Batista appears set to press the panic button and wield the axe to his misfiring attacking line-up as he attempts to keep the nation on course for a first South American title since 1993.

Fernando Gago, Sergio Aguero, Angel Di Maria and Gonzalo Higuain all look set to be given a chance to save the hosts by receiving a place in the starting XI at the expense of Manchester City’s unsettled talisman Carlos Tevez, Napoli striker Ezequiel Lavezzi, Ever Banega and Esteban Cambiasso.

World player of the year Lionel Messi will be given another chance to finally replicate his Barcelona form for his country after struggling to make an impact in the opening two matches.

However, with the backing of team-mate Javier Masherano, 22-year-old Messi is confident it will be third time lucky for Argentina and they will see off Costa Rica to book a last-eight spot.

He said: “I am feeling good and looking forward to it. I am confident that the team will qualify. We will progress.”

There is an element of déjà vu looking ahead to an Argentina game as it is always felt that the pre-tournament favourites will suddenly click into gear and their big guns will fire them to victory.

But that has not happened in the opening two games and Costa Rica won’t be rolling over to make it happen for them in an encounter they will be as desperate not to lose in order to go through to the quarter-finals.

Ricardo La Volpe’s Central American tournament invitees bounced back from an opening defeat to Colombia with a 2-0 success over Bolivia thanks to second-half goals from Josue Martinez and Joel Campbell.

Their cause was helped by the fact Bolivia played the second 45 minutes with nine men following two red cards, but they will have been handed a confidence boost from the win which they should take into the Argentina match (Costa Rica 11/1 To Win 90 Minutes).

The fact Costa Rica are sitting in second place going into the final group game is a surprise given that, like Mexico, they sent a youthful squad to the Copa America as part of their preparations for next summer’s Olympics, having already featured in the CONCACAF Gold Cup in America this summer which was seen as their priority.

But to dismiss them would be a mistake and that is something Argentina cannot afford to do when they go head-to-head on Monday.

Prediction: Argentina To Win 90 Minutes @ 2/11
Value Bet: Argentina 2-0 Correct Score @ 19/5

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The Argentine forward, who lit up the Nou Camp last season, was speaking to Cuatro, a Spanish television station, and has become the latest star name to enter the ongoing saga.

Fabregas himself has made it no secret that he would like to return to Barcelona after starting his career there as a youth-team player. He moved to North London in 2003 and admitted on Friday that he is torn between playing for the two clubs he loves.

The midfielder has many friends at the Catalan giants, many of whom graduated through the La Masia academy with him. They have spent a large amount of the summer pleading with him to return and Messi is the latest star name to add his opinion.

He said: “It is no secret that Cesc is my friend. The whole world knows that and I would love him to sign for Barca.

“I hope that the matter can be resolved soon and I’m confident that in the end it will be resolved in the way that Cesc can be a Barcelona player.”

The story has been the most enduring of the summer, along with the potential transfer of another Spaniard – Fernando Torres at Liverpool.

Fabregas still has five years remaining on his Gunners contract and manager Arsene Wenger has challenged him to help Arsenal win the silverware that he so desperately craves (Arsenal 7/1 to win the Premier League).

However, it appears that that Arsenal boss is starting to lose patience, challenging the Spanish star to make up his mind regarding his future. After Arsenal’s first Emirates Cup game on Saturday, Wenger admitted that “In the last six months, this story has made our lives difficult” before insisting that only Fabregas can put an end to the speculation.

Wenger surmised: “Only Fabregas can clear the air when he comes back from holiday.

“I cannot master what is written in the newspapers, I can only master our decisions.

“Cesc has five years to go [on his contract] and that’s it.

“The speculation does not stop – who can stop the speculation? Only Cesc, that is how I feel.”
He also spoke of his frustration regarding the whole saga by saying: “He has not played today, we have just played a football game and I sit here speaking about Fabregas.”

Fabregas is currently on an extended break following his World Cup exploits in South Africa, exploits which were fruitful as Spain won the tournament. They have now been installed as 7/2 favourites to win the 2012 European Championships in Poland and the Ukraine.

Seeing the success that his former academy colleagues are enjoying at Barcelona – who won La Liga last season – clearly holds huge sway for the Arsenal captain yet how this saga plays out remains unclear.

Gunners fans will be hoping that he does stay at the Emirates but this story is likely to rumble on and on even if he does.

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Argentina

There had been much speculation that the Barcelona 22-year-old would be rested for the match amid concerns about keeping him fresh for the latter stages of the tournament.

But Maradona said it would be a “sin” to deprive the public of Messi’s talents against Greece, even though Argentina are virtually assured of qualifying for the next phase.

Maradona insisted that the reigning FIFA World Player of the Year would feature in the match in Polokwane.

“Lionel Messi always wants to play and I thought I should give him a break (in training), but if you have a player as good as Leo, who is the best player in the world, I think it would be a sin not to give Messi to the people, to the team, and leave out the player who can certainly make the difference in a match,” said Maradona.

“We of course wanted to give Lionel Messi a break (in training). He will play.”

Maradona also played down Messi’s lack of success in front of goal. The striker has not yet scored in Argentina’s two games.

“If Messi is having a bad run then let him continue with that bad run, because I’m extremely pleased with Messi’s performances,” said Maradona.

“He goes out to play and help his team-mates. Leo helps define the match and creates things for the other players.”

Meanwhile, Maradona, whose infamous “Hand of God” is one of the most controversial incidents in World Cup history, believes more emphasis should be placed on fair play in the tournament.

Maradona appealed to FIFA prior to the start of the tournament to highlight their Fair Play campaign during the competition.

He then repeated the call for referees to protect flair players ahead of Argentina’s second group match against South Korea.

“We all want fair play, I understand that the referee may make a mistake but when (Argentina captain Javier) Mascherano, for instance, gets a card and the Korean player kicks out and gets nothing, no card, then sometimes as a coach you have doubts,” he said.

“This is football and not kung-fu fighting. So I don’t think yet we’ve seen the fair play we want to see.”

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Messi and Fabregas were team-mates during their days as trainees with the Nou Camp outfit before the midfielder made the switch to north London as a 16-year-old where he has gone on to make his name as one of Europe’s best players.

And Messi insists Fabregas’ return would help Barca in their bitter battle against arch-rivals Real Madrid who have been linked with summer moves for Steven Gerrard and Ashley Cole, among others, since Jose Mourinho was installed at the Bernabeu.

Messi told Sport: “I would like to play with Cesc again because I know him like (Gerard) Pique (from the youth team). We shared many things at that moment, when we coincided in Barca’s youth team, and I know what he can give on the pitch.”

Like Fabregas, Pique made the move away from Catalonia, to Manchester United, before returning to play a key role in defence over the last two seasons.

And Messi admits he and Fabregas are still in touch while claiming the Arsenal captain “wants to come to Barcelona”.

Messi added: “We speak and sometimes we send each other messages.

“He wants to come to Barcelona and we’re all waiting to see what will happen. I hope he ends up coming and that we can play together again.

“Nobody imagined that one day we could all be together in Barcelona’s first team, especially when Cesc and Pique left.

“For us to be together again would be special, a lovely situation for those of us that were there back then.”

Whether or not Fabregas is still on board remains to be seen, with Arsenal set to kick off their Premier League title challenge with a trip to Liverpool (Reds 5/4, draw 9/4, Gunners 7/4).

Totesport.com makes Chelsea the 13/8 favourites to retain their Premier League crown with Manchester United available at 2/1.

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