Suarez: Messi deserves more Champions League titles

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Luis Suarez believes Barcelona team-mate Lionel Messi should have more than four Champions League medals as the LaLiga champions target European success.

Messi has enjoyed a trophy-laden career at Camp Nou, where the five-time Ballon d’Or winner has claimed 33 titles – including four Champions League crowns.

The 31-year-old hoisted the coveted trophy in 2006, 2009, 2011 and 2015 but Suarez insists Messi is deserving of further silverware.

“He’s really motivated, even more so after the World Cup and the Champions League,” Suarez told RAC1.

“Now he’s the captain, the leader and he wants to lift trophies. We have a quality team and a coach to be able to win everything.

“But it’s a really difficult competition to win and [Messi] can’t win it on his own. It has to be a collective effort, as good as he is. We have to be compact. Leo deserves more.

“Obviously it’s infuriating [for us] because Madrid have won the Champions League in each of the last three years. They have made history and it’s a thorn in our side.”

Messi has taken on the Barcelona captaincy following Andres Iniesta’s move to Vissel Kobe in Japan and the superstar has already promised fans the team will do everything possible to win the Champions League this season.

Suarez jokingly added: “Messi’s already put the pressure on in terms of titles. But now it’s up to us to perform on the pitch.

“After the Gamper game, we spoke about the pressure he had put us under [laughs]. But that shows what Lionel is about, how desperate he is to win. I hope what he wished for comes true.”

Meanwhile, Suarez said he would love to retire at Barca as the 31-year-old forward discussed his future.

“My family are happy and we’re expecting a third child,” said Suarez, who arrived from Liverpool in 2014. “I’m at a club where I always wanted to be and where they’ve trusted in me after what happened in the 2014 World Cup.

“I owe the club everything for the way they’ve treated me and I’ll try to give my all. It’s complicated [to retire at Barcelona] and other great players like Xavi and Andres Iniesta weren’t able to do it.

“When I no longer have the level to play at Barcelona I’ll step to the side. Retiring here would be the wish of most players.”