Football
8y

Neymar case won't affect Barcelona vs. Valencia - Luis Enrique

Barcelona forward Neymar is ".000001 percent affected" by the current court case he is facing related to his 2013 transfer from Santos to the Catalan club, said Barcelona coach Luis Enrique.

Neymar was due on Tuesday in a Madrid court to testify in an investigation into alleged irregularities regarding his transfer to Barcelona. The club have denied any wrongdoing and it was business as usual for the Brazil captain, who Luis Enrique said is in perfect shape to play in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinal against Valencia at Camp Nou.

"Out of one in a million [the court case] affects him .000001 percent," Luis Enrique said. "It is such a repeated topic, we have been at this for years."

The Blaugrana coach said he is not underestimating the challenge from Valencia and credited manager Gary Neville for making improvements to the defence since his arrival.

"Now with their new coach we can see certain changes. The way they press is different and they are putting pressure in other areas where they didn't before," he said. "You can see the work of the new coach.

"Although it is no surprise that we are the favourites -- that is logical and normal and we accept it -- but the players are aware that favouritism has to be earned on the field. That is where it has value. The goal is to repeat all of our titles."

He added that the challenges of the season make it difficult for the club to reach an "optimum level of fitness."

"Taking into account that we are talking about one of the Copa del Rey semifinals, this makes the game more attractive," Luis Enrique said. "Valencia will give us the troubles they usually do as a team, and changes have been made since Nuno's time. Now they can put pressure on us and we can see their technical abilities. It will be a complicated match. We want to play well but we are aware of the challenge in front of us."

Luis Enrique also added that forward Lionel Messi is fit despite taking a knock in a knee-high challenge from Filipe Luis during last weekend's match against Atletico Madrid. 

"Messi is perfect," he said.

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