Lionel Messi Talks Real Madrid, Barcelona, Champions League, Olympics and More

Barcelona star Lionel Messi has said he doesn't want Real Madrid to win the UEFA Champions League and is pleased his own side have rediscovered their form in time to salvage their La Liga campaign. 

In a wide-ranging interview with ESPN FC's Quique Wolff, the Argentina international was asked if he would prefer Atletico Madrid or Real to win the Champions League final.

Messi said:

"

Always for Barcelona, the fans don't want to see Real Madrid win anything, as they also feel toward us. But in the end it is a final that they made it to again and for us, we just need to focus on what we can win. We have two finals left, and it would be great to end the season winning them both. It also would have been great to have been in the Champions League final but it wasn't to be. So winning two of three would be spectacular.

"

While Los Rojiblancos have also come to rival Barca in La Liga in recent years, Messi's preference that they beat Real is to be expected.

The Catalan giants can deny Los Blancos a trophy themselves if they win their final league game, thanks to their one-point lead at the top of the table, per La Liga:

They looked to be cruising to the trophy, but a draw with Villarreal and then consecutive defeats to Real Madrid, Real Sociedad and Valencia allowed their rivals to close the gap. 

The Blaugrana recovered with four wins from their last four, though, and Messi is relieved their destiny is in their own hands:

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Yes, luckily we have been able to get several points ahead. We suffered a dip at a time when we least expected it, after the international break, we had [Real] Madrid and then the qualifier against Atletico Madrid and then consecutive games in La Liga where we dropped many points. Luckily we counted on ourselves and now we are back on top.

"

Messi has been a key performer in their revival, and he opened the scoring against Espanyol on Sunday with a majestic free-kick, per Sky Sports La Liga:

Indeed, despite Messi missing the best part of two months of the campaign due to injury, only three players have contributed to more league goals in Europe's top leagues, according to Squawka:

With the Copa America's centenary and the Olympic Games taking place, it's set to be a busy summer of football for Argentina, though Messi will only be playing in the former.

The 28-year-old would have enjoyed taking part in Rio de Janeiro, though: 

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I would have liked to go because it was a spectacular experience for me to play in the (2008) Olympics, just as it was for the (2005) U20 World Cup. Not just because we won, but for the experience I gained. It was a great experience to stay in the Olympic Village and meet other elite athletes from other sports and to be just another athlete among them; that was very spectacular even though we didn't spend a lot of time in the village.

"

The Argentinian skipper won gold with La Albiceleste in Beijing—his only honour with the national side save for the FIFA World Youth Championship.

Messi has made three major finals with Argentina—the Copa America in 2007 and 2015, along with the FIFA World Cup final in 2014—and lost them all.

As noted by Sky Sports' Adam Bate, as the world's best player, Messi received angry reactions for failing to make the difference in the showpiece final at the Maracana Stadium.

However, the Barcelona star has put all that behind him:

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Well, that always happens. I am used to it. But yes, we made it to the final. It isn't like we only made it to the second round, we made it to the final and that is not easy. I have said this in other interviews: It is not easy. We were very close and we lost to Germany, a great national team with great players and they just got past us. Just like the Copa America, the loss came down to the details, we lost [vs. Chile in 2015] in penalty kicks. But to say that the media wanted to destroy me, I'm over that.

"

Indeed, while for some a lack of international success is a blemish on Messi's claim to the mantle of being the best of all time, as the Guardian's Sid Lowe noted, history could have been different if team-mate Gonzalo Higuain had maintained his clinical finishing skills in the World Cup and Copa America finals:

Messi will have another attempt at the Copa America this summer, and he will only be 31 by the time of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

While international success would fill the one gap on his otherwise impeccable resume, Messi will be remembered as one of the best to ever grace a football pitch regardless.

He may well finish the season with yet more La Liga and Copa del Rey successes at Barcelona, but there's plenty of time left in his career to bring silverware back to Argentina.