Sergio Aguero has told Manchester City’s defence they will need to be at their very best to stop pal Lionel Messi in the Nou Camp.
The Citizens will be guests at Camp Nou as they face Barcelona on Wednesday determined to go top of Group C as boss Pep Guardiola returns to the club where he first made his name - both as a player and as a coach.
Messi’s return from injury has already affected the mood at Camp Nou, with the Argentinian inspiring Barca to an emphatic 4-0 win over Deportivo on Saturday.
"Playing against Messi will be something special,” said Aguero, who plays alongside the 5time Ballon d'or winner for Argentina.
“We are the same nationality and we are friends too. For that reason I didn’t want to to get Barcelona in the draw but sometimes fate plays a part and there’s nothing you can do
“I know all about him and of course so does Guardiola – but then when it comes to Barcelona everybody in the world knows about all their players, so it doesn’t mean so much.
“He will be difficult to stop, I know that from experience. All we can hope is that he has a bad day and our defence plays the game of its life. It’s that difficult because Leo is the best in the world.”
“The Champions League is our unfinished business,” insisted Aguero.
“We all want to win it. In the past we didn’t do well but last year was different and we must raise our game and give everything for our fans this year. We’ve made a good start, we want to continue.”
He said: “We just want to concentrate on ourselves in this competition. It’s normal that Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern are the favourites to reach the final but there’s no reason why City cannot be there.
“Winning the Champions League would mean everything to us. It would be a dream come true and total madness for everyone if we did it.”
“I think I’m still improving,” said Aguero, who has now been in England for more than five years after arriving from Atletico Madrid for £38m in July, 2011. “I am a lot more experienced than before and things are going well this season.
“But I still think I can improve even more. I am always ambitious and I always want more. I want to be an even better player.”
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