Barcelona's Javier Mascherano has dismissed suggestions that Barcelona star man Lionel Messi is a need for rest.

Lionel Messi has come under criticism of late for his poor performances, which have had a direct consequence on the results of Barcelona of late.

Even though Lionel Messi was extremely brilliant in the latest El Clasico, he has not performed up to the level he is capable of in the matches against lower teams. As a result, there have been suggestions that Lionel Messi should be rested for a few matches in order to help him find form.

Lionel Messi has been constantly playing football both at club level and international level over the last few years. Hence, there have been suggestions that he could do better with the break. That said, with the important games coming up, not is far from the ideal time for the diminutive Argetninean to take a break.

Barca remain the favourites for the Champions League according to the best European football betting, though all that could change if Messi isn't playing!

However, fellow Barcelona teammate Javier Mascherano is of the opinion that Lionel Messi does not need any rest because the performances of Lionel Messi does not seem to have changed one little bit. Mario Kempes claimed recently that Lionel Messi's performances have suffered a serious dip in form. Being the star man of the squad, Lionel Messi has played almost every game for Barcelona in the last few years.

"He scored the other day [against Real Sociedad] and he looks fine to me. The coach decides how much he needs to play. He [Messi] helps us a lot. For the matter of rest, we have physios and a coach who take charge of that. He is a player who prefers playing to training,” the former Liverpool midfielder said in an interview given to the reporters on Monday.

Lionel Messi's supposed poor form has led Barcelona to drop behind leaders Real Madrid by a massive seven points in the Spanish La Liga, but Javier Mascherano has said that he is still confident of winning the title.