One man who knows exactly why Messi walks so much during matches is Pep Guardiola, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner’s former manager at Barcelona and arguably the best coach in the world.
Commenting while watching a video of Messi as part of the ‘This is Football’ series on Amazon Prime Video, Guardiola commented: “He’s watching now, he’s walking.
“He’s walking… That’s what I like the most. He is not out of the game, he’s involved. He’s moving his head: right, left, left, right. He knows exactly what is going to happen. But his head is always like this [Guardiola turns his head left and right]. He’s always moving.
“He’s not running, but he’s always watching what’s happening. He smells where are the weak points in the back four. After five, ten minutes, he has the map in his eyes, in his brain to know exactly where is the space and what is the panorama. It’s like being in the jungle and I have to survive. And he knows if I move here, here, I will have more space to attack.”