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Manchester United have produced countless talents out of their impressive academy system, with attacker Alejandro Garnacho one of the latest to emerge and thrive in the first-team.

The Argentine originally joined from Atlético Madrid back in 2020, linking up with the youth team before making the jump and seamlessly transitioning into the professional game.

He’s since made 130 appearances for the Red Devils, scoring 23 times, with eight of his efforts coming during the ongoing campaign at Old Trafford.

Ruben Amorim has continued to make him an integral part of his plans, as seen by his tally of 14 starts since his appointment at the end of November.

However, the same can’t be said for one player who evidently doesn’t appear to be in the 40-year-old’s plans after allowing him to depart on a temporary basis in January.

Marcus Rashford’s time at Manchester United

Academy graduate Marcus Rashford was frozen out of the United squad after Amorim’s arrival, making just six appearances after he took over the reins in the North West.

However, he’s gone out on loan to Aston Villa, recapturing his best form, already registering four assists under Unai Emery – leading to a recall to Thomas Tuchel’s England squad.

His time with his boyhood club has been a roaring success, registering 138 goals in 426 appearances, and it all started with his debut in the Europa League way back in 2016, scoring a double against FC Midtjylland.

The 27-year-old made himself an immediate fan-favourite given the impact on that night in February nine years ago, with not many predicting him to be as successful as he has been.

However, in the present day, one other Red Devils talent has the opportunity to follow in his footsteps after his own impressive performance during his first European outing for the club.

The player who could be United’s next Rashford

Performing on a European stage is a daunting task, let alone for your first professional start, something which Rashford did with ease all them years ago.

Centre-back Ayden Heaven has also managed to do just that, starring in the triumph against Real Sociedad on Thursday night in what was his first start for United after his summer move from Arsenal.

There’s no doubt the 18-year-old was a signing made for the academy, but after such a display, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him in Amorim’s first-team plans going forward.

The youngster has benefitted from the current injury crisis within the defensive department, taking his opportunity to shine at Old Trafford with both hands against the LaLiga outfit.

Heaven featured for the entirety of the clash, completing 86% of his passes and registering 64 touches – looking calm and composed in possession despite his tender age.

He also won 100% of the ground duels he entered, making four clearances and winning one tackle, helping the Red Devils reach the next stage in their pursuit of a trophy this campaign.

Minutes played

90

Touches

64

Passes completed

42/49 (86%)

Ground duels won

4/4 (100%)

Clearances made

4

Tackles won

1

Interceptions made

2

The defender, who was dubbed “exceptional” by Liam Canning, has certainly given Amorim a selection headache when other players return from their injury setbacks.

He’s replicated Rashford in impressing on his debut, which came in a European competition, with the centre-back having the potential to replicate the Englishman’s success at Old Trafford.

Should Heaven get anywhere near the levels the attacker has achieved in Manchester, he will be an absolute bargain, having the chance to cement his place at the back and play a vital role in their quest to return to glory.

Amorim has found his new Gyokeres at Man Utd & it's not Zirkzee or Hojlund

Ruben Amorim may have a new Viktor Gyokeres on his hands at Manchester United.

ByEthan Lamb Mar 14, 2025

As Wolverhampton Wanderers prepare to square off against Everton in a game which could lift them a huge eight points clear of the drop, Vitor Pereira could welcome back as many as three key men in a major boost for those in the Midlands.

Wolves injury news

As things stand, Wolves are moving closer and closer towards confirmed safety with as many as five points separating themselves and the relegation zone in the final 11 Premier League games of the campaign. Their job is not yet done, however, and their next three games against Everton, Southampton and West Ham United are likely to be season-defining without star man Matheus Cunha.

The Brazilian turned a moment to savour into a moment of madness against Bournemouth last time out, scoring a wonder goal before seeing red and headbutting Milos Kerkez to receive his marching orders.

Following his second suspension of the season, Cunha could even miss further games which may also rule him out of a vital fixture against Ipswich Town.

As Pereira awaits the verdict on his star forward’s ban though, he will at least be relieved to have received a number of injury boosts. As confirmed by the manager, Wolves are set to welcome the returns of Emmanuel Agbadou, Rodrigo Gomes and Goncalo Guedes against Everton this weekend, whilst Marshall Munetsi and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde have also been passed fit.

Wolves now eyeing move for £120k-p/w player wanted by Bruno Lage at Benfica

Wolves are among the teams keen on signing a player who is set to become a free agent.

ByBrett Worthington Mar 6, 2025

Pereira told reporters: “Agbadou is ready to help us. Munetsi is ready, Guedes is ready, Rodrigo is ready, Bellegarde too. I’m very happy and positive for this game.”

Having missed the last three games, the return of January arrival Agbadou should prove to be a particular boost as Wolves look to end Everton’s four-game unbeaten run in the Premier League and return to winning ways themselves in doing so.

"Strong" Agbadou is returning at crucial time

With Cunha’s ban likely to stifle Wolves’ frontline, Agbadou’s return certainly comes at a key time for those in the Midlands. More than ever in the next three games or potentially more, they’ll have to fall back on their defensive work if they want to push more than the five points clear they currently find themselves away from the dropzone.

The 28-year-old, meanwhile, has an opportunity in his own right to cement a starting place in Pereira’s strongest side after starting games against Bournemouth and Fulham in the Premier League before an ill-timed injury stopped his momentum in its tracks.

Reims defender Joseph Okumu will certainly back his former teammate to do exactly that after telling GiveMeSport in January: “It was quite interesting to play alongside Emmanuel. We had quite a good time together. We played against each other in Belgium and then together for a while at Reims. He is quite strong and we had a great bond.”

Now at Wolves, Agbadou will be keen to show that strength and play his part in taking the club to safety under Pereira – starting with victory against Everton at Molineux this weekend.

Cesc Fabregas has revealed that he did speak with other clubs about a potential managerial switch before opting to remain at Como.

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Fabregas linked with open position at Bayer LeverkusenSpanish coach stays at ComoCredits the atmosphere at Italian club Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Fabregas had been heavily linked with a move to Bayer Leverkusen after Xabi Alonso left the German side to succeed Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid. However, the former Spanish midfielder has turned down the opportunity, opting to remain at the Italian club for at least another season. Fabregas has admitted he has spoken with other clubs about taking over, but credits the atmosphere at Como as the key reason he wishes to stay.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportWHAT FABREGAS SAID

Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Fabregas said: "I talked to the club, we made progress, I am happy here. I want to understand if everyone wants to continue like this and they are all aligned with my ideas. I also spoke to other clubs, I am respectful and speak to everyone.

“There is to be an official announcement. I am happy, we all need to be on the same page to continue together.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Fabregas explains that he wishes to create a family-like atmosphere at the club, similar to the one he felt at Arsenal when he was breaking through into the first-team as a teenager. He believes that by helping his players develop as people, they will become better footballers too. He explained: “I was alone at Arsenal at the age of 16, so I know how you create a family. We will have a training centre here of a high level. I want to put my lads in the best possible context to create a human bond. I want a good person first and foremost, more than a good player, so I look them in the eye and want to evaluate everything.”

GOAL/GettyWHAT NEXT FOR FABREGAS?

With Serie A wrapping up next weekend, Fabregas will already be considering his squad for next year. He added that he would like to trim the size of his squad, which includes former Spurs wonderkid Dele Alli, to help create a more tight-knit group. Should Fabregas choose to keep Alli, he will be desperate to help the Englishman recapture the brilliance he once displayed in the Premier League.

Understrength Glamorgan outgunned in one-sided encounter at Kia Oval

ECB Reporters Network20-Jun-2023Surrey made their highest T20 score at the Kia Oval as they crushed understrength Glamorgan by 81 runs to chalk up a fifth win in their last six Vitality Blast South Group games.Opener Will Jacks top scored with 69, his third fifty in this season’s competition, and there were cameos from Laurie Evans (40) and Sunil Narine (36) to lay the platform for a brutal assault by the Curran brothers in the closing overs.Sam cleared the ropes six times as he smashed 59 off 22 balls and Tom contributed 23 off 13 as they plundered 80 runs from the last 33 deliveries before Sam was bowled looking to ramp Jamie McIlroy off the final ball of the innings. Surrey’s 238 for 5 was also the third highest score in their T20 history.Glamorgan, whose injury issues meant they gave debuts to three players, also conceded their third highest score in the format. They made 157 for 8 in reply but despite this defeat still have a chance of reaching the knockout stages with four games to go.With the influential Colin Ingram injured, Glamorgan have brought in New Zealand batter Cam Fletcher, 30, on a short-term basis. Fletcher has been playing in the Bradford League for New Farnley while batter Will Smale and right-armer Andy Govin were also making their debuts for the county in T20.Gorvin was the only bowler whose economy rate was below ten an over as Surrey, put in on a green-tinged pitch, cruised along at 12 an over for most of their innings.Jacks and Evans had 64 up in the powerplay before Evans, who made 118 when the teams met in Cardiff earlier this month, was superbly caught by wicketkeeper Chris Cooke cutting leg-spinner Peter Hatzoglou in the seventh over just when he was starting to cut loose.Glamorgan briefly stemmed the flow in the middle of the innings by claiming three wickets in 11 balls. Jacks, who’d hit eight fours and two sixes, cut to backward point and Sunil Narine (36 off 18) holed out to long off to give Hatzoglou two wickets in five balls. Jamie Overton top-edged a pull but that brought the Curran brothers together and the fun began.McIlroy was hit for five sixes in his final two overs and Hatzoglou two with Sam Curran unveiling some eye-catching shots and clean hitting, the highlight the successive sixes off McIlroy down the ground in the final over as he passed fifty in the format for the 14th time. His was also Surrey’s joint-third quickest fifty (18 balls) in T20.Asked to score at 12.25 an over Glamorgan had little option but attack but no one could play the substantial innings – or do so quickly enough – to give them a chance.Kiran Carlson was caught on the square-leg boundary in Sam Curran’s first over; fellow opener Smale hit 27 off 16 balls only to drive Gus Atkinson’s slower ball to Tom Curran at long on; and debutant wicketkeeper Josh Blake took a brilliant one-handed catch to his right to remove Sam Northeast.Billy Root (31) added 48 for the fourth wicket with Cooke, who top scored with 49 off 28 balls before holing out off Chris Jordan. The Surrey skipper finished with 4 for 21 and Narine picked up 2 for 25.

Wickets tumble as hosts reach small target to keep pressure on Surrey at top of Division One

ECB Reporters Network22-Jul-2023

Essex 458 for 8 dec (Critchley 117, A Cook 87, Harmer 83*, Arshdeep 3-58) and 30 for 3 beat Kent 207 (Compton 47, S Cook 3-19) and 280 (Finch 114, Evison 58, S Cook 4-46, Harmer 4-72) by seven wicketsEssex made heavy weather of scoring the 30 runs required to beat Kent by seven wickets and secure their fourth successive LV= Insurance County Championship victory. It needed Paul Walter to keep his head when others around him were losing theirs and stroke the winning runs 23 balls into what turned into a more difficult run chase than necessary.Essex attempted to make light work of reaching the target and were halfway there from the first over bowled by Hamid Qadri. But that was the prelude to the drama. Dan Lawrence was first to go when he tried to hit Grant Stewart’s first ball out of the ground but only skied to mid-on.Adam Rossington followed in the next over, lbw attempting to reverse sweep Qadri, and first-innings centurion Matt Critchley departed first ball to a caught-and-bowled by the offspinner, taken running back and over his head at mid-on. That was 23 for 3 in the third over, but Essex managed to get over the line in the next over to take 21 points and keep up the pressure on Championship leaders Surrey.With the threat of rain around later in the day, Essex needed eight overs before breaking the stubborn overnight partnership. But once Qadri departed to a smart catch at short square leg by Simon Harmer the innings collapsed in just six balls.Sam Cook added a second of the morning three balls later when Matt Quinn played on and Joey Evison fell lbw to the first ball of Harmer’s 44th over of the innings. Harmer finished with 4 for 72 to take his season’s tally to 41 wickets and Cook had figures of 4 for 46.

“I am definitely old, you can’t really shy away from that, but however long I play, it’s very important to enjoy the IPL”

Ekanth21-Apr-2023MS Dhoni is 41 years old and has been part of 240 IPL games, but he came into this season after close to a year-long gap following last year’s edition. He knows he’s at the twilight of his career, but believes that it will not stop him from cherishing every moment of a tournament he has won four times with Chennai Super Kings.”[I am] Definitely old, you know, you can’t really shy away from that. Whatever said and done, it’s [the] last phase of my career,” Dhoni said after leading Super Kings to victory against Sunrisers Hyderabad at Chepauk.But he put a positive spin on the situation by drawing upon the loyal and vigorous support of his fans in Chennai, who came out in droves and sent out a cheer so loud that Dhoni had to wait before he could speak.Related

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“However long I play, it’s very important to enjoy the IPL. After two years, it has been a case where they [the crowd] can come [and] enjoy the game. It’s a full house, they have the new stand, so it feels good to play here.”And I said at the start of the tournament, we haven’t played in Chennai a lot, we have only played like six seasons. So it feels good to be here. They have given a lot of love and affection, and they always stay back to hear me out.”This year, Dhoni has had to mentor a mostly young bowling line-up with limited experience. On Friday, it featured the likes of Akash Singh, Maheesh Theekshana, Tushar Deshpande and Matheesha Pathirana, who bowled 14 of the 20 overs. While Ravindra Jadeja did the bulk of the damage by taking three wickets, Dhoni trusted Akash and Deshpande with the new ball and used spin to tie down the batters in the middle overs. Super Kings conceded 60 runs and took two wickets between overs 6 and 16, including a 36-ball period where no boundaries were scored. When asked about his methods of guiding the youngsters, Dhoni said he offers the first say to the bowlers.”I always tell them that the first preference of field and whatever you want to bowl is with you. Yes, you can convey to me, I may say that, ‘no, I am looking for something like this.’ Other than that, from behind, if the batter is somebody who can play the scoop shot behind, then I try to tell them, ‘okay, we’ll keep the fielder behind then bring in some other fielder on the top.”With [Dwayne] Bravo it was difficult because he would never agree. But the good thing was he would keep an eye on the batters. But with these youngsters, you can tell them, and after that it is their call as to what field they want.”When asked about his wicketkeeping despite his age and lack of game time coming into the tournament, Dhoni let out his competitive spirit by half-jokingly complaining about not being awarded the best catch award for his take to dismiss Aiden Markram. Dhoni, standing up to the stumps, had little time to react and was wrong-footed, but managed to move his hands across and take a sharp catch.”Still they didn’t give the best catch [award], I was in such a wrong position,” Dhoni said. “Just because you wear gloves, people think it’s very easy but I felt that was a fantastic catch. Not because of your ability but at times you’re at the wrong place at the wrong time when you catch it.”

Black Caps quick returns after stint last summer was cut short following his wife’s cancer diagnosis

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jan-2025

Blair Tickner will return to Derbyshire for the 2025 season on an all-format deal.The New Zealand fast bowler played seven matches for the county last summer across the Vitality County Championship and Vitality Blast, before returning home early after his wife Sarah was diagnosed with leukemia.Now with Sarah on the road to recovery, Tickner returns to Derby for the duration of the season, subject to international commitments. He has represented the Black Caps on 34 occasions, and made his Test debut against England in 2023.Tickner, 31, is currently enjoying a fine domestic summer in New Zealand and is among the leading wicket-takers in the country with 13 dismissals in the Plunket Shield (first-class), 11 in the Ford Trophy (List A) and nine in the Super Smash (T20) so far.Derbyshire’s head of cricket, Mickey Arthur, said: “We never got to see the best of Blair in his first spell with us, there was a lot going on off the field, but he was the consummate professional and we were always eager to bring him back for 2025.”His record deserved to be better last season, we dropped chances off his bowling and if we take those, his average comes right down. I’m confident we will be better in that regard in 2025, and Blair should reap the rewards, because he’s a very good bowler.”With the likes of Zak Chappell, Harry Moore, Pat Brown and Blair all vying to take the new ball, I’m very excited about our attack in 2025.”Tickner added: “Despite everything, I loved my first spell with Derbyshire and I’ve kept in touch with the players and coaches, the club have supported me massively and I’m looking forward to getting back to England and showing what I can do.”I think everyone would agree that I have unfinished business with Derbyshire, I couldn’t show my quality first time around and I’m coming back hungry to do just that and win games for the county.”Agar back at NorthantsAshton Agar was part of the Northants side that reached last year’s Blast quarter-finals•Andy Kearns/Getty Images

Northamptonshire, meanwhile, have confirmed that Australia allrounder Ashton Agar will be back for the entire Blast group stage in 2025. Agar made six appearances in the competition last season, helping Northants to reach the quarter-finals.Northants chief executive, Ray Payne, said: “Ashton is a brilliant individual who played a very important role in our good form at the backend of the T20 Blast last year. He is highly skilled, very experienced and has had success at the very highest level of the game.”We’re all very excited to him again in a Steelbacks shirt in 2025.”

Third team with IPL involvement, as Sunrisers Hyderabad owners make highest bid for Leeds franchise

Nagraj Gollapudi and Matt Roller05-Feb-2025A third IPL franchise owner has emerged victorious in the ongoing Hundred sale with the Sun Group, owners of Sunrisers Hyderabad, making the highest bid to buy a stake in Northern Superchargers, whose host county is Yorkshire.ESPNcricinfo understands that the Sun Group have agreed to buy 100% of the franchise: both the ECB’s 49% stake, and Yorkshire’s 51% share. The Superchargers are the first team to be sold outright, with host venues retaining a share in the first five franchises sold.The Sun Group’s valuation of Superchargers was £100 million, with two other parties understood to have been involved in the auction. Both Yorkshire and Sun Group have to finalise the agreement within eight weeks of the end of the Hundred sale.Yorkshire will keep 80% of the revenue from the sale of their 51% stake, which will provide the club with an injection of around £40m. Colin Graves, Yorkshire’s chairman, predicted last year that the club would soon be “fighting for its survival” due to debts of more than £20m, of which around £15m is owed to his family trust (which is managed by independent trustees).The Superchargers will be the third T20 franchise team in the Sun Group’s portfolio. They acquired Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2012, who went on to win the IPL in 2016 and finished as runners-up last year. In 2023, they added Sunrisers Eastern Cape, who have won the SA20 title in its first two editions.The Sun Group is owned by Kalanithi Maran, an Indian media baron, who successfully bid for the IPL franchise after the BCCI terminated the ownership contract of the previous Hyderabad-based team, Deccan Chargers, in 2012.Related

• Yorkshire to start clearing debts of £25 million as Hundred money lands

• Can Travishek, Klaasen, Reddy and Cummins push SRH to go one better?

• Ben Stokes to miss Hundred ahead of legacy-defining Ashes winter

• Surrey to retain majority stake in Oval Invincibles as negotiations with Reliance begin

• Ends justify the means for ECB as Hundred's millions prepare to roll in

Sanjay Patel, Yorkshire’s chief executive and the Hundred’s former managing director, said in a statement: “We are delighted to be entering into an exclusivity period with the Sun Group, and will be continuing our conversations with them in the coming weeks with a view to setting the Northern Superchargers up for long-term and sustained success.””Having been in consultation with them for some time now, it is clear that they are aligned to the values and future direction of the club and will play a huge part in ensuring we can go on to achieve great success in the coming years. Today is clearly a huge milestone for Yorkshire CCC, the Northern Superchargers and the Sun Group, but it is worth stressing that there is a lot of detail to be discussed alongside further due diligence and legal processes before a contract can be signed.”The Superchargers are yet to win the Hundred in either the men’s or the women’s competition, with both teams finishing fourth in 2024. Their men’s team is coached by Andrew Flintoff and captained by Harry Brook, while the women’s team recently appointed Lisa Keightley as Dani Hazell’s successor. Mickey Arthur has also taken over as their new director of cricket this year.Pat Cummins captained Sunrisers Hyderabad to the IPL final last year•BCCI

The Sun Group joins owners of two other IPL franchises – RPSG Group (owners of Lucknow Super Giants) and Reliance Industries Limited (owners of Mumbai Indians) – who made the highest bids to buy stakes in Manchester Originals and Oval Invincibles respectively.There could be at least one other IPL owner, the GMR Group, the co-owners of Delhi Capitals, who are also widely expected to buy a stake in Southern Brave after securing a deal to buy host county Hampshire last year.The other successful bidders to date are Cricket Investor Holdings Limited (a Silicon Valley tech consortium spearheaded by Nikesh Arora) at London Spirit; tech entrepreneur and Washington Freedom owner Sanjay Govil at Welsh Fire; and Knighthead Capital at Birmingham Phoenix.Warwickshire confirmed that Knighthead are their preferred investor on Wednesday. Chief executive Stuart Cain said: “We’d said at the start of this process that we wanted an investor committed to invest in the region and be with us for the long term, to make a real difference. I believe we’ve found that in Knighthead and we look forward to working with them during this exclusivity period.”The total valuation of the six franchises so far is close to £800m, with Trent Rockets and Southern Brave yet to be sold.Feb 5, 1800 GMT – This story was updated several times, including to add Yorkshire’s comments.

Former Chelsea and England defender John Terry has revealed he was turned down for manager roles for not having enough experience as a coach.

Terry not pursing manager careerStill works in Chelsea's academyPreviously had assistant rolesFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Terry says he has given up on trying to become a manager due to the rejections he has received when applying for roles. The former centre-back previously had coaching roles with Dean Smith at both Aston Villa and Leicester after calling time on his playing career in 2018, having won every trophy there is to win with Chelsea.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Plenty of players from Terry's era have gone into coaching in recent years, with the likes of Xabi Alonso, Cesc Fabregas, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Mikel Arteta among others getting manager roles. However, Terry has admitted he is "baffled" by some of the jobs certain figures in football have managed to snare ahead of him. 

WHAT TERRY SAID

Terry told : “I’m done in terms of coaching. I’m enjoying my life, I’m working in the Chelsea academy.

“I went for a couple of jobs and those days are gone for me. I’m enjoying my life a little bit, I’ve got my time to myself, I play a bit of golf, I’m in the academy and I have some family time as well.

“I absolutely wanted it. When I went into Villa I got great experience under Dean Smith and we got promotion, which was incredible. 

“As an assistant coach in the Premier League and the experience I’ve had as a player and an individual captain in both Chelsea and England, I thought that would be enough to get me a job. 

“I’m not saying a job in the Premier League or the Championship – but a job at League One level. 

“I didn’t even get a sniff. I had interviews and it was just ‘you have no experience’. 

“When I see some people managing today, it baffles me, it really does. 

“In terms of ‘am I frustrated’, yes, absolutely because I have a lot of good attributes to be a really good coach or a really good manager but, unfortunately, that’s not happened.”

Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR TERRY?

Terry was recently spotted as a manager in the six-a-side Baller League competition but for now most of his coaching will continue at Chelsea on a part-time basis as he looks to mould the next generation of Blues stars.

Pedri admits he "found it hard to believe" that Lionel Messi was leaving Barcelona when news of a stunning exit broke in the summer of 2021.

All-time great left as a free agent in 2021Stunned the world with a switch to PSGPedri proud to have worked with legendFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi severed career-long ties with the Blaugrana when reaching the end of a lucrative contract in Catalunya. It emerged that La Liga's giants did not have the finances required to put fresh terms in place.

AdvertisementGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

An emotional goodbye was bid by Barcelona’s all-time leading goalscorer, with tears flowing before a move to Paris Saint-Germain was completed. It was only when Messi made his way to France that a switch nobody could have predicted became real to those that the Argentine icon was leaving behind.

WHAT PEDRI SAID

Pedri was just 12 months into his Barca career when Messi moved on, with the Spain international telling of how he initially refused to accept that the rumours of an impending departure were true: "It was a shock when Leo Messi left. I was playing in the Olympics, and I found it hard to believe."

GettyDID YOU KNOW?

Pedri did, however, get to experience life alongside the all-time great and quickly learned that it was always best to nudge the ball in that direction. He added on working with the GOAT: "I always passed the ball to Messi. Clearly, he was better than me. He was incredible in training; we were lucky to see him."