Martin Braithwaite was involved in two hits on his debut for FC Barcelona on Saturday. The Danish attacker was particularly impressed by Lionel Messi, who scored four times against Eibar (5-0).
“I’m not going to wash my shirt after Messi hugged me,” Braithwaite told AS. “He thanked me after his fourth goal and that was a wonderful gesture.”
Braithwaite was taken over from Levante this week. Barcelona received a dispensation to attract a player outside the transfer window after Ousmane Dembélé sustained a serious injury.
“Messi is a great guy,” said 28-year-old Braithwaite. “He tried to put me at ease by always looking after me.”
“I feel really good anyway in my first days at Camp Nou. If you told me two weeks ago that I was going to play for Barcelona, I would have said you were crazy.”
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Messi made the first four goals against Eibar on Saturday. (Photo: Pro Shots)
Setién: “Messi does things that other players only dream of”
Barcelona coach Quique Setién also praised Messi. With eighteen goals, the Argentinian is by far the top scorer of La Liga.
“Messi has been performing at this level for fourteen or fifteen years,” said the trainer, who let Frenkie de Jong fall in for just half an hour on Saturday.
“With Messi in your team, as a coach you are always assured of goals. He is the best player in the world and does things that other players can only dream of.”
An important week is coming for Barcelona. On Tuesday the Catalans will visit Napoli in the eighth finals of the Champions League and on Sunday the team of Messi will play against Real Madrid, which lost the lead to the rival on Saturday with a 1-0 loss against Levante.
View the stand, the results and the program in La Liga
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