Lionel Messi admits he had ‘a lot of problems on and off the field’ last season

The Barca man admits in an interview that he had to come back even stronger this year

The phenomenal level of performance that Lionel Messi has achieved since he broke into the Barca team almost a decade ago means that we judge him by a far higher standard than anyone else, bar a certain Portuguese fella who togs out for Real Madrid of course. Anyway, last season was a disappointing one for the Argentinian as he failed to win the league, cup, Champions League or World Cup. Yep, that is a very bad season for Messi, despite 40 goals in 43 games and a trip to the World Cup final. The season was mired in problems, including issues over his tax affairs and the illness and tragic death of Barcelona manager Tito Vilanova. Now in an interview with AS in Spain, Messi has admitted that his game was affected by all that went on last season. "The truth is that this year I tried to get to my best form as quickly as possible. I knew I was coming off the back of a not very good year, during which I went through a lot of problems on and off the field. "It was a challenge to change the image that I had given out last season and to be the player I had been in previous seasons again. That was my objective and that's how I came out at the start of this season, really up for it." That is certainly the case. Messi has 37 goals in 36 games so far this year and his recent form has been blistering as Barca and the player are starting to look at their very best once again. "The truth is that we're in good shape at the moment. Luckily, after the match against Real Sociedad [a 1-0 defeat on January 4], where we didn't start the year very well, everything changed. Now there is a different dynamic to the team, everything we do comes off. "The team has a lot of confidence and we've changed the attitude and drive. That's why we're playing like we are at the moment, but there is still a long way to go. We still haven't won anything yet. "There are many months of competition left in the league and in Europe. And we have to try and reach the cup final as well. We have to carry on as we are to reach our goals." Don't say you haven't been warned Manchester City.