Barcelona signing Francisco Trincao is a bit like Messi, says Braga teammate
Abel Ruiz has compared Barcelona January signing Francisco Trincao to Lionel Messi and believes he has what it takes to thrive for the La Liga champions.
Trincao completed a £26m move to Barca from Braga during the winter transfer window, although he will remain with the Portuguese side until the end of the season.
Is Trincao ready for Barcelona? Five things to know…
- Trincao has six goals and three assists in 17 Primeira Liga appearances for Braga this season.
- His form attracted the interest of Barca, who completed a £26m deal for him in January.
- The 20-year-old will remain with Braga until the end of the season.
- Teammate Ruiz says Trincao is more than capable of making the grade at the Nou Camp.
- He also compared his dribbling skills to those of Messi.
Ruiz moved in the opposite direction, joining the Primeira Liga outfit on loan ahead of an £7m permanent deal and having worked up close and personal with Trincao, he’s in no doubt about the 20-year-old’s abilities.
“He has a lot of personality,” Ruiz told Mundo Deportivo.
“He’s a very good player and I’m sure he’ll do well at Barca. He has so much quality. He can go wide on either side, right or left. He has a good shot… he’s very complete.”
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He continued: “He’s more than ready. He’s perfectly capable of playing there and he’ll do very well. We don’t know how the squad will be made up next season, but obviously he’ll have competition.
“Great teams have great players in all the positions and he’ll have to win himself a place – just like anywhere else.”
When asked to compare Trincao to another player, Ruiz admitted he had similarities to none other than six-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi.
“I’d say he’s similar to Messi, but you can’t compare anyone to Leo,” Ruiz added. “He’s your typical left-footer with good dribbling. He’s skilful.
“If he plays on the right, he comes inside and hits a fierce shot. On the left, he beats players and sets up a lot of goals.”