Lionel Messi singles out Aston Villa's Ashley Young for Twitter praise

Praise indeed for Villa winger

Ashley Young has found out he has a not-so-secret admirer in Spain after Lionel Messi tweeted a glowing reference for the Aston Villa star.

The Barcelona attacker was on Twitter as he tuned into Villa’s victory over West Ham on Saturday.

Messi tweeted: “The Villa vs. West Ham match is really exciting – Ashley Young is having a blinder.”

Ironically, the tweet came in the game after the departure of Martin O’Neill who had claimed Young and Messi were in the same class.