Despite a scare from Gibralter's finest and a hard fought draw in Kazakhstan, Celtic are still on course to qualify for the group stages of the Champions League this summer, and one man who wants to see that happen is arguably the best footballer ever, Lionel Messi.
The Argentinian has expressed his admiration for the Glasgow club before, but ahead of Celtic's clash with Barcelona in Dublin on Saturday the little genius has heaped praised on his upcoming opponents.
Speaking to Scottish publication the Daily Record, Messi acknowledged that this Barca friendly was not as important as the matches that came before and will come after the Dublin showdown for Celtic, but insisted that he wants to see the club in the Champions League proper again.
For Celtic they have much more important games than this coming up with the Champions League qualifiers, but this can help them prepare. We have had some games against Celtic that I will always remember, and they are a big club, with big fans, and I would like to see them qualify this year - it is where they belong.
It is always a good atmosphere against Celtic. For the players at Barcelona who experienced the games in Europe against them, they will know what to expect from their fans. It is only a friendly, but I don’t think their fans know what a friendly is. There are a lot of Celtic fans in Ireland, and I expect them to make a lot of noise and create another special atmosphere.
Messi's knowledge of Irish football fans is better than we had thought.
It's all very nice coming from a player of the stature of Lionel Messi, and while the Dublin friendly will be a great occasion for the fans, all focus must surely be on the home leg against Astana next week.
And by the way, if Robin Van Persie is being linked to Rangers, surely Messi's comments here will have him photoshopped into a Celtic jersey before the end of the transfer window.
