Valverde on resting Messi: No one knows the players better than me
The Barça coach says all decisions are made for the good of the team
Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde explained on Saturday the reason for resting Lionel Messi twice in the last week.
Messi was a substitute against Leganes (he came on in the 64th minute) and he wasn't even called up for the Copa del Rey game at Seville in midweek.
Valverde defended his decision, saying that no one knows what is better for the team than he, the coach, does.
"It's a decision based on the coach's criteria, who is the person who knows his players best, who knows how they are doing," he said in a press conference on Saturday.
"I have to take those decisions. No one else has the data I have on my players. I do what is best for the player, for the team and for the club."
Valverde has recalled Messi to the squad for Sunday's La Liga game against Girona. Messi has 18 goals in 18 league appearances this season and 25 in 24 in all competitions.
