'One thing with Messi is he is fantastic with the ball but it's incredible to see how good he is without the ball - how he is able to find spaces.'
Former India captain and current Under-19 coach Rahul Dravid visited Camp Nou to witness Barcelona playing against Athletico Madrid in the La Liga clash on Sunday.
Barcelona closed in on the La Liga title after beating 10-man Atletico Madrid 2-0 in the top-of-the-table showdown as late strikes by Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi gave the Catalans an 11-point lead at the top of the table.
"It is one of the things I have always wanted to do, to come to Camp Nou, watch a football match and to be here, experience the atmosphere is absolutely electric. It is incredible, I mean to be able to watch people like (Lionel) Messi and (Luis) Suarez play live is fantastic for me and my family. So thanks to Barcelona FC for the hospitality, it's been excellent," Dravid told fcbarcelona.com.
"Rahul Dravid, it was a pleasure greeting you at Camp Nou! We hope you enjoyed our victory," FC Barcelona tweeted.
"We have great crowds and great atmosphere at the IPL and a lot of our Test matches as well, so cricket is the No.1 sport in India but football is catching up very quickly," Dravid added.
Dravid is one of the few players in the international game to have scored 10,000 runs in both Tests and ODI format.
He lavished rich praise on Barcelona captain Lionel Messi.
"I think he is an absolute genius, it's incredible what he does and to watch him live and to see ... one thing with Messi is he is fantastic with the ball but it's incredible to see how good he is without the ball - how he is able to find spaces. I don't think there is a better player than him ever," Dravid said.
Dravid is currently coaching the India 'A' team and India U-19 teams and has been instrumental in grooming talents like Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw and Vijay Shankar.
