BARCELONA, Spain – Hansi Flick has Barcelona clicking again, and the best player in the club’s history has taken notice.

Lionel Messi praised Flick’s willingness to give Barcelona’s youth players opportunities to play. That bet has paid off, boosting a Barcelona team that is playing its best football since Messi’s tearful departure three years ago.

“It makes me proud to see how the team is now represented. This Barça is spectacular,” Messi said in an interview with Catalan television TV3 on Friday.

Messi and other members of his great Barcelona team, such as Andrés Iniesta and Xavi Hernández, were themselves products of the club’s famous training system. Lamine Yamal now leads a new group of products from the La Masia academy.

“This happened when I arrived at the club at the age of 13,” Messi said. “I think it’s great that these kids have had these opportunities over the years. If you give them the opportunity and show confidence, they will respond this way because they know the club better than anyone and how the team wants to play. Good things are happening, just like the previous generation.”

Xavi, Flick’s predecessor until he was sacked last season, was the first to tap into this rich new vein of emerging talent by handing Yamal starts at the age of 15. Xavi also opened the door for the arrival of defender Pau Cubarsí and midfielder Fermín López. the senior team.

Flick has continued on the same path despite being a complete newcomer to the club.

Instead of putting pressure on the club to sign a permanent midfielder upon his arrival, the German manager took several youth players with him on Barcelona’s pre-season summer tour. From that experience he found Marc Bernal, who played well at the guard position until he tore his ACL after just three games.

Then Flick dug deeper and found a real gem in Marc Casadó, who has taken the position by storm and recently earned his debut in Spain. In total, Flick has handed four youth players their debuts in his first three months at the club.

Casadó was one of six under-22 players to start for Barcelona, ​​led by 17-year-olds Yamal and Cubarsí, in two recent victories over Real Madrid (4-0) and Bayern Munich (4-1).

“It’s an honor that the best player here in Barca’s history says this and that he follows how the team plays and how the young players do,” Flick said of Messi’s comments. “You can see that his whole heart is in this club and it means a lot to us and this team.”

Barcelona visits Celta Vigo on Saturday and leads the Spanish league with six points ahead of Madrid.

Yamal will miss the match against Celta due to a right ankle injury that also ruled him out for Spain during the international break last week. Barcelona lost 1-0 at Real Sociedad in its last match, with Yamal already sidelined with an ankle problem.

Flick said they don’t want to rush their new star back too soon.

“Lamine is very important for us, but we have to adapt and we have players who can play for him,” said Flick. “When he is back, it is important that he is 100%.”