Cristiano Ronaldo is a great human player but Messi is a Martian, claims Basile

While he acknowledged the Real Madrid ace's footballing ability, the veteran trainer described his compatriot as from another planet, and thus cannot be compared to his peers.

 The 68-year-old believes that while the Real Madrid forward is a great player in his own right, the Argentine's is presently in a league of his own and cannot be measured against other footballers. "You cannot compare anyone to Messi.

 Cristiano Ronaldo is a great human player, but Messi is a Martian. He can run with the ball at an even higher speed than without the ball," Basile stated to Radio 9. "It's as if he's playing another sport. It's nearly impossible to do the things he does at that speed.

 He just keeps getting better and is always improving." Basile also had his say on whether Pele or Diego Maradona was a better player, but struggled to give a definitive answer.

 "Pele was an absolute monster and had a fantastic physique," he added. "Maradona was another genius and better in tight spaces.

 Diego was the team's leader, whereas Pele was more of an individual player."

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Barca 8-0 Raja Casablanca : Messi hat-trick sinks Raja Casablanca

Lionel Messi starred again as he hit a hat-trick for Barcelona in their 8-0 friendly win over Raja Casablanca at the Grand Stade in Tangier.

 Alexis Sanchez opened the scoring, before Messi doubled his side's advantage. The pair scored the next two goals to put Barcelona 4-0 ahead and Messi completed his hat-trick on the stroke of half-time.

 Dani Alves got on the scoresheet from the penalty spot in the 58th minute before youngsters Sergi Roberto and Gerard Deulofeu added two more in the last three minutes.

 After the game new Barcelona boss Tito Vilanova heaped praise on Messi in his first pre-season appearance after missing the match against Hamburg on Tuesday.

 "When you have the best player in the world, with this scoring capacity, he usually makes the difference, and once again he did it," Vilanova told reporters.

 "This match was good to pick up the pace because we faced a team that made us run.

 "The players from the youth side? They always play well. Everyone played at a very high level tonight."

 Messi himself told El Mundo Deportivo, "I haven't been able to do a good pre-season for a long time because I always arrived late. It has been very good to have such a long rest.

 "The way of training has continued in the same way and we are working with the same people so we haven't noted any changes. We are in pre-season and so you notice the tiredness.

 They kept the ball well and made us run a lot but we will get better with every game. "We are training very hard and we have to continue like that to arrive in the best shape possible for the important matches.''

 Vilanova also spoke about injured striker David Villa - who has not yet featured for Barca since sustaining a fractured tibia at the Club World Cup in December - but could not offer any update.

 "We are talking about a serious injury, with a long recovery time," he said. "When he is fine, we will be delighted to welcome him back.

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Hamburg to withhold payment from Barcelona if Messi does not play in friendly

Hamburg will withhold up to €1.2 million (£936,000) in appearance fees from Barcelona if Lionel Messi does not play when the two sides meet in a pre-season friendly on Tuesday.

 The illustrious friendly against the former Champions League winners has been arranged to coincide with the 125th anniversary of the German club, who are themselves former winners of the European Cup.

 The report states that the Imtech Arena has been completely sold out for the visit of the Blaugrana, as Hamburg prepares to celebrate a milestone in the club's history.

 However, it is believed that a clause was written into the contract for the friendly that stipulates that Messi must feature in the game.

 The same clause does not apply to team-mates Andres Iniesta and Xavi, both of whom are just returning to pre-season training following Spain's successful European Championship campaign.

 "It must be assumed that he plays," die Rothosen CEO Joachim Hilke was quoted as saying by Bild, with the potential appearance of the Argentine international expected to be the main draw.

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Messi stars in Masters tour

Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez grabbed hat-tricks as the Stars side drew 7-7 with the Masters on Saturday night as part of the World Soccer masters tour. 

 The game saw two sides of top players from the world game take the field under the leadership of managers Fabio Capello and Dunga in an exhibition encounter. 

 Edinson Cavani's 88th minute goal had appeared to give the Stars side the win, but Argentine hero Ariel Ortega popped up to convert a penalty kick in the final minute to restore parity. 

 A crowd of 48,327 turned up in Miami for the final stop of the series, following other similar events in Cancun, Mexico and Bogota, Colombia. 

 Other Stars players amongst the goals were Radamel Falcao, James Rodriguez and Nene, while Didier Drogba and Diego Milito scored for the Masters side. 

USA internationals Carlos Bocanegra and Maurice Edu were also included.

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Messi ignores Ronaldo jibe

Barcelona star Lionel Messi has chosen to ignore the comments made by Real Madrid ace Cristiano Ronaldo about him during Euro 2012.

 After being taunted by Denmark fans chanting Messi's name during Portugal's match against Morten Olsen's team, Ronaldo lashed out by slating the Argentine's failure to claim silverware with the Albiceleste at Copa America in 2011.

 "I have nothing to say with regards to Cristiano Ronaldo's comments," Messi told reporters.

 Questioned about a potential transfer to Real Madrid, Messi reiterated his desire to retire at Barcelona, where he has played since 2000.

 "I do not think about joining Madrid," the 24-year-old added. "Barcelona are my home and I would be delighted to play there until I retire.

 "I hope that is what happens." Messi went on to comment on the managerial changes at Camp Nou, with Tito Vilanova taking the reins after Pep Guardiola decided to step down as coach to take a year out of the game. "We are very happy that Tito is Guardiola's replacement," he affirmed.

 "He is someone we know, he works the same way that Guardiola did.

 "We are obviously sad that Pep has left us, because we did not expect it, but with Tito the way we work will not suffer any changes."

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Player profile: Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi is the heir apparent to the throne left vacant by Diego Armando Maradona. The waters are divided between those who consider him to be far from being the best No. 10, and those who believe that Messi will be even better than Maradona.

 Born in Rosario, he cut his teeth in the youth ranks of Newell's Old Boys, until a hormonal problem that affected his growth changed the plans of his family and, of course, his personal future.

 Facing expensive treatment for their son, Messi's parents moved to Spain as Newell's were not able to afford the medical costs related to his condition, and even the wealthiest Argentine teams, such as River Plate, refused to foot the bill.

 After his first trial with Barcelona, the Catalan coaches had no doubts.

 They decided to sign Messi and pay for his medical treatment.

 His growth was noticeable within Barca, and in little time he came to be considered one of the great talents at the club.

 He made his debut in the first division in October 2004, against Espanyol, and Barcelona have since adopted him as one of their greatest idols. His first championship would come in the Liga season of 2004-05.

 Since then, and playing a more prominent role every season, he has won every major club trophy at Camp Nou - including a stunning haul of six in 2008-09 - and claimed the World Player of the Year award three times in three years, leaving many in little doubt as to the fact that Messi is the best player of his generation; possibly of all-time.

 That idea was given further weight in March 2012 when, at the age of 24, he became the all-time top scorer at Barcelona - beating the 232 goals of Cesar Rodriguez.

 Strengths: His ball skills are second to none, his runs from midfield are usually lethal and he is almost impossible to tackle when he gets his head down. His balance when running at speed is incredible. 

Weaknesses: Too often he searches for a way to finish moves by himself without looking for team-mates in a better position to shoot at goal. Career high: Winning the 2009, 2010 and 2011 World Player of the Year awards.

 Career low: He was unable to perform to his best in the 2006 World Cup in Germany, where Argentina were eliminated in the quarter-finals with Messi looking on from the bench.

 Style: Quick, incisive, balanced, a stylish runner with the ball. Quotes: "Messi is my Maradona," said Maradona himself, as the head coach of the Argentine national team.

 Trivia: His debut with the national team (against Hungary) was a disaster: he entered the game in the 18th minute of the second half, and 47 seconds later was sent off.

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Breaking news: Messi shares baby joy

Barcelona and Argentina star Lionel Messi has confirmed reports he and his girlfriend are expecting their first child.

 The diminutive forward had been tight-lipped when questioned about the rumours he was expecting his first child with his partner, Antonella Roccuzzo, which were fuelled by his special goal celebration in Argentina's 4-0 victory against Ecuador earlier this month.

 However, the 24-year-old has now announced his girlfriend is pregnant.

 "I think it will be a boy," Messi said. "We did not want to say anything because we never talk about our private life.

 "But we were constantly asked about it, so we wanted to share our joy.

" The three-time Ballon d'Or winner scored 73 goals in all competitions during 2011/12.

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