Barcelona Legend Names Only Player Who Can Replace Lionel Messi

Barcelona legend Samuel Eto’o sees one player at Camp Nou who has the potential to fill the shoes that Lionel Messi might leave in the summer.

Messi has been proving to everybody that he is still the player the world has adored. However, it has been widely known in the sport that the six-time Ballon d’Or winner could consider parting ways with his beloved club soon.

While the day Messi leaves Barca is yet to some, Eto’o is already hoping Ansu Fati can “take over” the Argentine’s place.

“I think [Fati] is the one for the future,” Eto’o recently told SPORTbible. “He's currently doing amazing stuff so I think the club really needs to groom him and take very good care of him.”

“Let's hope he's the one to take over from Messi,” the La Liga ambassador added.

Aside from Eto’o, Rivaldo is another Barcelona all-time great who has high hopes for Fati.

Sharing his thoughts about the Catalan club’s decision to extend the youngster’s contract which includes a staggering €400 million ($483 million) buy-out clause, Rivaldo pointed out that it was a smart decision as Fati has proven that he is a reliable player.

“It makes sense because Barca needs to develop players who can take responsibility on the pitch and make the difference in big games,” Rivaldo said of Fati's new deal last year. “His big clause means that Barca has high hopes for Fati to become one of the great players in their history.”

Like Eto’o, Rivaldo also views the 18-year-old to become like Messi in Barcelona adding, “They'll be hoping that one day he can be compared to Messi and other great players who were brilliant at Barcelona.”

Fati has already copped an array of achievements in his professional career. Prior to his injury last year, the forward has become Barcelona and Spain’s youngest goalscorer of all time.

It didn’t take long for Messi to notice Fati’s exceptional skills. In his first-team debut season, the Barcelona captain himself bared that he wants the teenage sensation to progress the same way he did with the club.

"I really like him and I try to help and support him. He’s an amazing player and he’s got what it takes to succeed,” Messi told FIFA.com of Fati in 2019. “But if I look at it through my eyes, I’d like them to bring him on gradually, like they did with me when I started, taking things nice and easy and without putting pressure on him.