MESSI RECEIVES SHOWERS OF PRAISES

The ex-Barça player and current center of the Chicago Bulls talks football, basketball, and his time with his hometown Club

 Pau Gasol: “It's a pleasure to see Messi play”  as at yesterday from the  football club website

Pau Gasol will be playing in his sixth NBA All-Star Game this weekend. Before the game, to be held in Toronto this year, the former Barça basketball player and native of Sant Boi de Llobregat — a small town just outside of Barcelona — and now one of the stars of the Chicago Bulls, sat down with Barça TV and fcbarcelona.com to talk about his ex-Club and hometown team.

"It is a pleasure to see [Leo Messi] play," Gasol said. "The greatness of the team makes Messi even greater."

Gasol also talked about Messi's influence beyond Camp Nou and the Catalan capital.

"Football, as a global phenomenon, is growing a lot in the United States, and players like him make the fans want to go see him play," Gasol said. "He's the best in the world, a true superstar, one of a kind. He's marked an era and will be a historical reference. He trained at La Masia and hopefully he'll finish his career at Barça."

The 16-year NBA veteran, whose career began at FC Barcelona in 2001 — and whose younger brother Marc is also an NBA star — follows the Club every day. "In the NBA, everyone knows where I come from," he said. "I will always be tied to FC Barcelona."