Former Manchester United and England midfielder Paul Scholes, who was in Mestalla last weekend to watch Barcelona's 1-0 win over Valencia, has said he "detected a mood of boredom" about Lionel Messi.
Scholes, part of the United squads that lost the 2009 and 2011 Champions League finals to Pep Guardiola's men, wrote in his column for The Independent: "They were undoubtedly the best team in the world [under Guardiola].
"When I went to watch them in Valencia, for much of the game I felt they were a ghost of the side they had once been. They won the game in injury time but even in those final stages they hardly created chances. They still pass the ball relentlessly, but that old drive and tempo are not nearly as urgent."
On Messi, Scholes said: "When I try to find a way of summarising the attitude of the team, I keep alighting on the word 'bored.' And above all, Leo Messi. In him, as much as anyone, I detected that mood of boredom. He has never been a player given to chasing the full-back when his team lose the ball, but now, more than ever, he keeps his movement to an absolute minimum."
The former midfielder also had empathy for coach Luis Enrique, who took charge of the club in the summer.
"For a young manager like Luis Enrique, it will be hard to change the way Messi, and the rest of the stars in this team, play the game," he wrote. "They have won it all. They have conquered the world. Now Enrique has to find a way of persuading them to do it all over again."
Scholes said that in his view, although he stressed it was just one game, the Barcelona team that Guardiola built has reached the end of its cycle, and now Enrique has to find a new system for his players to follow.
Lastly, Scholes addressed the Ballon d'Or: "Both Cristiano [Ronaldo] and Messi are fantastic players, but in a World Cup year I think a Germany player should win it. Thomas Muller, Toni Kroos and Bastian Schweinsteiger are excellent players, but if I had to choose one my player of the year would be Schweinsteiger."
Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was selected on the three-man shortlist along with Ronaldo and Messi.