Messi is the best player in history, says Luis Enrique

Who agrees with him? Barcelona boss Luis Enrique believes Lionel Messi is not only the best player in the world, but also the finest footballer in the history of the game.

Messi did not score in the 1-0 win over Manchester City at Camp Nou on Wednesday, but marvelled with his vision, his dribbling ability and his passing, which included a wonderful delivery to set up Ivan Rakitic for the only goal of the night.

The Argentine was denied a goal himself by the brilliance of City goalkeeper Joe Hart but still impressed fans - and the returning Pep Guardiola - with his sublime skills in a truly complete performance.

"We all know what Leo Messi is," Luis Enrique said afterwards. "He is without doubt the best player in the world, but also the best in the history of football.

"To have him is a big plus and that's obvious, but to win titles you need an entire team with balance and that is what we are doing."

And he added: "At Barcelona we are so lucky to have Leo with us. We are used to it now and sometimes that's a bad thing.

"It's curious - Leo didn't score in the first leg or in the second one, but he was still the best player in the two games."