Total Protection: Barcelona ban hard tackles on Lionel Messi in training

Barcelona players are banned from tackling Lionel Messi too hard, one of the club’s former defenders has revealed.

The Argentine superstar, who recently won his sixth Ballon d’Or, has struggled with the occasional injury in recent years.

And the Catalans have gone to extreme lengths to protect the 32-year-old from suffering any more knocks

“We all knew that he couldn’t get injured,” Jean-Clair Todibo, who moved on loan to Schalke last week, told German outlet Bild.

“Messi was defended very carefully in training.

“I learned a lot from Messi and I even tackled him a few times, but I was careful not to hurt him.”

It was Messi’s 76th-minute winner which marked new Barcelona coach Quique Setien’s first game in charge with a 1-0 victory over Granada last Sunday to show his everlasting importance to the LaLiga giants.

The playmaker started the move with a pass to Antoine Griezmann on the edge of the box and, after the Frenchman’s flick found Arturo Vidal, Messi converted the midfielder’s backheel by rolling the ball into the corner of the net.

It was his 12th goal in as many games against Granada and moved Barcelona back to the top of LaLiga on goal difference.

Read Also:Mascherano backed Messi to return to Argentina

The Argentina superstar did not feature in the midweek Copa del Rey defeat of Ibiza, but he should return to Setien’s starting line-up on Saturday when Barca travel to the Mestalla to take on Valencia.