If football is a religion then Lionel Messi is its God, proclaims Martin Braithwaite

While the transfer window is the only place clubs can buy and sell players, the rules differ from the rest of Europe as it allows clubs to sign players even after the window is closed. However, that is only if a player within the club’s squad is ruled out for more than five months which saw Barcelona take advantage of the rule by signing Martin Braithwaite. The La Liga giants were given permission by the league and signed the forward in a controversial deal although he can't take part in Champions League games.

However, the 28-year-old was at the club for less than twenty days before football was put under lockdown to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Yet within those 20 days, somehow the Danish international made more of an impact than Ousmane Dembele made all season and it has seen many within the club praise Braithwaite’s work-ethic. The 28-year-old has his own praise to hand out as he admitted that Messi is the “God” of football and that Luis Suarez is someone who could teach him.

“If football’s a religion, he’s its God. Messi takes attention away. People forget to look at what’s happening around him because he’s such a threat. There’s space and we have to understand how to exploit that. Then when you do, realise ‘these guys are making runs: watch out’ and then you’re giving space to Messi. It’s about intelligence,” Braithwaite told the Guardian.

“I was really excited to play with Luis Suárez, too. He was injured but now he’s back and I’m looking at him: how he moves. He understands the game so well, he’s so intelligent: when to link, when to turn, how to use his body. I ask questions, I’m learning. The knowledge these players have is priceless.”