Valverde: I am lucky enough to say that I've coached Messi Barcelona vs Mallorca Not expecting him to retire in the near future

Barcelona head coach Ernesto Valverde has lauded Lionel Messi, following the Argentine's winner to beat Atletico Madrid last weekend before he went on to win his sixth Ballon d'Or in midweek.

The Barcelona captain caused a stir a couple of months ago when it emerged that he is free to leave the Blaugrana at the end of each campaign, yet Valverde prefers to focus on the honour he has by being Messi's coach.

"You are aware of the privilege you have [by coaching Messi], but sometimes the day to day doesn't allow you to enjoy it," Valverde said.

"Over time, you enjoy it more. I'm aware of it, I'm lucky enough to say that I've coached Leo.

"Just like how our elders talk about [Alfredo] Di Stefano, we can say that we have been [here] at the same time as Messi."

Messi hit the headlines after hinting in his Ballon d'Or acceptance speech that retirement is not too far away, but Valverde isn't allowing himself to worry about the situation.

"It seems natural, something normal," he responded.

"In the end, he's 32 and he's not going to retire tomorrow.

"It's something he doesn't have in his head but it's there; when a player goes past 30 he always thinks about it.

"You have to look at it in a natural way. When the years go by, there will come a time he will leave football, but it will not be now."

Messi is the first name on the team sheet for Valverde, yet one player who has forced his way back into his coach's plans is Ivan Rakitic, who started the crucial matches at home to Borussia Dortmund and then away to Atletico Madrid last week.

"He's a reliable player in a lot of ways," Valverde explained.

"In the same way that there have been moments when he has not featured, he has continued training [with the same intensity] to seize his opportunity.

"He's played at a good level [in the last two games] and we're happy with that.

"We'll see what happens in the next few games. He has emerged in a difficult period."

Much of the talk surrounding Barcelona is still with regard to the upcoming Clasico on December 18, which Valverde thinks will go ahead without any issues.

"We'll play it, I don't know how long we could postpone it for," Valverde noted.

"We are 10 days away; we have two LaLiga [Santander] matches and one Champions League match [to focus on beforehand].

"The game will be played without any problems."