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Guardiola: Messi's 'short bursts of effort' help Barcelona star perform like a 20-year-old

The Argentine star was the main man for his side once again on Tuesday, scoring and assisting twice each in a 5-1 win over Real Valladolid

Lionel Messi’s ‘short bursts of effort’ in games help him maintain the same levels of performance he had as a younger player, according to his former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola.

The Barcelona star scored twice and assisted two more in his side’s 5-1 demolition of Real Valladolid on Tuesday night, as they returned to the top of La Liga.

With Messi turning 33 at the end of this season, talk of retirement will inevitably become a more frequent topic and Guardiola feels the Argentine's current way of playing is for his own benefit.