Barcelona - Barcelona are evaluating the possibility of giving their superstar Lionel Messi permission to take a brief holiday, so that he can rest physically and mentally from a stressful time, the daily Sport said Monday.

"Such a dense schedule, saturation from tension in Argentina, unfair and disproportionate criticism of his play and the many doubts raised in his country around his commitment to the national team have led him into a dead-end. Messi is mentally exhausted and needs a break," the Catalan daily said.

Messi has played a large number of matches and he has travelled a lot in the past two months, including activity with Barcelona and with Argentina.

Criticism over his performances with the national team shirt en route to the 2010 World Cup may have reportedly damaged the striker's confidence.

"The people who know him best are starting to fear that these first symptoms are the threshold to something more important, so they have suggested the possibility of giving him a break in the short term," Sport said.

Messi might be given time off following Tuesday's Champions League match against Kazan, or perhaps next week, when Barcelona are playing the King's Cup against the modest Cultural Leonesa, the report said.

"Messi is being exposed to unusual and totally disproportionate pressure for a boy his age, 22 years old, who has suffered immensely to get his national team to qualify for the World Cup, who cannot leave his home without people harassing him, and of whom the most is always demanded, with the excuse that he is the world's best player," Sport concluded. (dpa)