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Gary Neville: 'Lionel Messi redefines greatness'

Neville: 'Messi redefines greatness'
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Gary Neville feels that Lionel Messi has redefined greatness for Barcelona following his substitute appearance in the Champions League win over Paris Saint-Germain.

Gary Neville feels that Lionel Messi redefined greatness after his substitute appearance led to Barcelona overcoming Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday.

The Liga leaders were trailing 3-2 on aggregate and 1-0 on the night at Camp Nou before Messi's introduction from the bench after 65 minutes led to him claiming an assist for Pedro to take Tito Vilanova's side through to the semi-finals.

Messi was named as a substitute due to an injury he sustained in the first leg at Parc des Princes and Neville thinks that the player's impact puts the four-time Ballon d'Or winner beyond compare in world football.

"For me, greatness was redefined on Wednesday night. I would say a player who can change an entire stadium and turn a match around simply by walking on to a pitch redefines greatness," Neville wrote in his column in the Mail on Sunday.

"You put Messi into that team and you're transforming a very good team into the greatest team of all time.

"It was felt as though something spiritual had happened. You really had to be in that stadium on Wednesday night to appreciate the magnitude of Lionel Messi and the impact he can have."

Barca meet newly crowned Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich in the semis of the competition with the other tie pitting Real Madrid against Borussia Dortmund.

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Barcelona's Pedro celebrates after scoring the equaliser against Paris Saint-Germain on April 10, 2013
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TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
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2Real Madrid27176457263157
3Atletico MadridAtletico27168344182656
4Athletic Bilbao271310445242149
5Villarreal26128648361244
6Real BetisBetis2711883533241
7Mallorca27107102633-737
8Rayo Vallecano279992929036
9Celta Vigo27106114041-136
10Sevilla279993236-436
11Real Sociedad27104132328-534
12Getafe2789102322133
13GironaGirona2796123540-533
14Osasuna2671273237-533
15Espanyol2677122537-1228
16Valencia2769123045-1527
17Leganes2769122440-1627
18AlavesAlaves2768133040-1026
19Las PalmasLas Palmas2766153045-1524
20Real ValladolidValladolid2744191862-4416


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