Messi has never been an idol for me – Klaassen

Davy Klaassen has revealed ahead of Ajax‘s Champions League clash with Barcelona that he does not viewLionel Messi as a role model and has little interest in swapping shirts with the Argentine on Tuesday night.

Messi is a four-time Ballon d’Or winner and considered one of the greatest players of all time.

However, the 21-year-old Klaassen has admitted that he has never looked up to the Barca superstar or been a particularly big fan of the Catalan club.

“If Lionel Messi doesn’t ask for my shirt, I won’t ask for his,” the Ajax ace told reporters on the eve of Tuesday’s Group F showdown.

“He’s a great football player, but he isn’t an example for me.

“And Barcelona are not one of my favourite clubs. Ajax have always been my No.1.”

Klaassen also claimed that Ajax have no intention of simply defending for 90 minutes at Camp Nou in the hope of nicking a point.

“We will play our own game,” the Netherlands international stated. “If we sit back, Lionel Messi will get too much space.

“I don’t think that sitting back is the solution against a squad like Barcelona.

“We want to play against the pressing football of Barcelona. They are not used to play against teams like that.

“Maybe there is a chance to beat them that way.

“Barca is a very huge club. But I think it will be a great battle on the pitch.

“Maybe I can enjoy it, but that will depend on the result. We want to win.”

By Mark Doyle

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ABOUT: Nana Kwesi Coomson

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An Entrepreneur, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Communications Executive and Philanthropist. Editor-in-Chief of www.233times.com. A Senior Journalist with Ghanaian Chronicle Newspaper. An alumnus of Adisadel College where he read General Arts. His first degree is in Bachelor of Arts - Political Science (major) and History (minor) from the University of Ghana. He holds MSc in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Energy with Public Relations (PR) from the Robert Gordon University in the United Kingdom. He is a 2018 Mandela Washington Fellow who studied at Clark Atlanta University in USA on the Business and Entrepreneurship track.

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