Barcelona: Lionel Messi Labeled As 'Chosen One' By Quique Setién Ahead Of 700th Goal

Lionel Messi is just a goal away from reaching the 700^th of his career. Ahead of yet another historic milestone, the Argentine legend was already hailed by Quique Setien, who labeled his star captain as the “chosen one.”

Messi has not missed a beat since returning from the long break, scoring in each of the last two outings for Barcelona, which has kept its dominance at the top of La Liga.

As the Catalans brace themselves to face Sevilla next, Setien is hoping Messi could keep his pace and seize the breakthrough goal on Friday night.

"What can we say about Leo?" said Setien in an online press conference on Thursday, via the Evening Standard. "It would be good he if reached it this matchday because we are going to need all our skill to overcome Sevilla. These are figures at the reach of the chosen ones. Let's hope he scores the 700th and many more."

Reaching the said number of career goals will also serve Messi his 630^th goal for Camp Nou, where he has played since 2004.

Tipping his hat to Messi was a no-brainer for the 61-year-old after having witnessed how the six-time Ballon d’Or winner took his methods to longevity with downright discipline.

"A player who has been playing for 14 years has a deep knowledge of his body and his reactions," he said. "That is what has happened with those of us who prolonged our careers.”

Setien admits that Messi is a rare type of breed, but he remains confident that somewhere down the road, a handful of other players with the same DNA as the Argentine will eventually emerge.

"We have to control the desire and the needs, but I have confidence that not only Leo but three or four other footballers, have that knowledge and can mark their own rhythm."

The Blaugrana will head over to the Estadio Ramon looking to continue asserting their mastery at La Liga. The defending champions boast 64 points as leaders of the league with Real Madrid trailing by just two. Sevilla, meanwhile, sits at the third spot with 51 points after collecting four in their previous two assignments.