Pinto is a good friend of Leo Messi’s and as soon as he got back he spoke to Pinto about his physical state. Pinto is optimistic about Messi’s chances of playing on Saturday, explaining: “I’ve spoken to him and he’s feeling good, despite the few twinges he’s had . The doctors will decide whether he plays or not, so we’ll just have to wait till Saturday to see what happens”.

Messi knows best

Despite that optimistic note, Pinto wasn’t prepared to give a definite answer as to whether his friend will finally face Villarreal: “we all know that Leo is very competitive, but the first consideration has to be his health. He knows himself better than anybody and he’ll know if he’s fit to play”.

April could be the cruellest month

On Saturday Barça kick off a month that could decide their fate in all three competitions, but Pinto believes that the stress involved is what being a player is all about: “a sportsman’s life is about stress if you want to be competing to win things. It’s true that we are going to play for everything this month, but that won’t change the way we do thing s. We have to work like we always do – with patience and calmness”.

Pinto also doesn’t believe that the first game of the month is a do or die match: “it’s very important, but the league isn’t won or lost on just one game. There’s still a way to go and whatever happens at El Madrigal won’t be decisive”.

“I’ve still got a lot of time ahead of me”

As he explained to Barça TV and www.fcbarcelona.cat ,just after signing his new deal, Pinto again expressed his pleasure at extending his contract to 2012: “I’m feeling good physically. I have to thank my parents for the genes they passed onto me. I’m very lucky and I hope I still have a lot of time ahead of me to keep playing”.