‘Lionel Messi is from another planet’ – Barcelona’s Eric Abidal warns Manchester United ahead of Champions League final

Leo Messi – Barcelona (Getty Images)

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Barcelona defender Eric Abidal has warned Manchester United they will have a tough time trying to stop Lionel Messi in Saturday’s Champions League final at Wembley.

Abidal has been on the road to recovery following an operation to remove a tumour on his liver, and was able to make his comeback against Real Madrid in the second leg of the semi-final.

The 31-year-old missed the final in Rome two years ago, where Messi netted the second goal in a 2-0 win, and was tight-lipped on what it takes to stop the Argentine ace.

“It’s our little secret. If I answer that question, it will give it away to every other team,” he told Uefa.com.

“The problem with Leo is that no one knows what he will do. He is from another planet. He can do anything, he’s proved that despite his age.

“He still has many more years to come, and I hope he wins the Ballon d’Or more than anyone else as he is so talented. We saw it against Real Madrid in the Champions League – at 1-0 he dribbled past four players to score. It’s incredible.”

The Frenchman reminisced about the 2009 final at the Olimpico, saying: “That game was massive. We wanted to deliver a big performance and we did. That’s why we always come back to the motto, ‘More than a club’.

“Whether it’s the fans, the boys on the bench, the players in the stands or the ones on the pitch, we were strong mentally and convinced we could achieve something. The players who were there and who played that day were fantastic.”

Barcelona return to Wembley where they won the 1992 final and Abidal hopes he can feature in the crunch clash.

“It would be great to win at Wembley again and close the circle. I’ve had the opportunity to play there with France and it’s an incredible stadium,” he said.

“I will try to recover. I am very happy to be back in the squad. I need to take it step by step after the big surgery I went through.

“So far I have felt really good but if I don’t play the next game it’s not a problem. I have a fantastic job and the most important thing is to have good health.”

But when it comes to picking a winner between United and his team, he said: “I think it will be 50-50, as many Frenchmen have played for Barcelona and the same goes for Manchester United. Let’s hope the best team wins, and that it will be us.”