Lionel Messi's unique trick to save Barcelona's Dembele from red card

It would be interesting to know how Lionel Messi feels about Barcelona’s current revolution under Xavi.

The former Barcelona midfielder has made a big impact since his arrival at the Camp Nou and now there’s a feeling that the La Liga giants will be competitive again as early as next season.

Messi, meanwhile, is in the midst of an underwhelming debut season with Paris Saint-Germain.

The Argentinian was desperate to stay at Barcelona last year but was forced out as a result of the club’s financial struggles.

But it’s hard not to imagine that part of him wishes that he was back in Spain and a part of the project under Xavi.

There’s an optimism around the club that hasn’t been felt for some time, and it’s quite a shame that Messi isn’t a part of it.

The thought of him captaining an exuberant side featuring young stars like Pedri and Gavi is heartwarming.

Messi’s leadership skills have regularly been called into question, but Ousmane Dembele can attest to the fact that the 34-year-old always backs his teammates.

In 2019, Messi and Dembele were in action as Barcelona faced Sevilla at the Camp Nou in La Liga.

Both were on the scoresheet as Barcelona ran out 4-0 winners, but the evening ended on a sour note for Dembele when he received a red card minute before full-time for criticising the referee.

In his report, ref Mateu Lahoz claimed the French winger told him he was “very bad, very, very, very, bad.”

Spanish TV cameras backed up Lahoz’s version of events, with Dembele apparently using the words ‘Muy malo’ (very bad) after Lahoz had sent off Ronald Araujo.