"Messi is the best player in the world, ...even better than he seems" - Iniesta

Andres Iniesta has voiced his opinion that Barcelona team-mate Lionel Messi is the best player in the world, and insisted the Argentine is even better than people think he is.

The Spain international has stressed that the prolific attacker always manages to surprise his opponents, and can make the difference with his individual quality.

"For me, Lionel is the absolute best. He is even better than he seems to be at first sight. It is very difficult to make the difference like he does, and make everything look so natural. It's just great to see him play," Iniesta told El Mundo Deportivo.

"He always does the unexpected. The best thing about him is that he always comes up with something special. He can do something different that surprises everybody."

The attacking midfielder then went on to stress that Barcelona want to go far in all competitions after missing out on the Champions League and La Liga title last term.

"Things have been going well so far, but it's too soon to draw any conclusions. We will have difficult moments, but we are determined to be successful.

"Our goal is to fight for silverware in every competition we take part in. We are very motivated after last year, and will try and regain the Liga title from Madrid. And then there's the bad feeling from missing out on the Champions League final and we want to make amends for this."

Barcelona currently sit joint first in La Liga with 19 points from seven games.