Former Manchester United footballer Dimitar Berbatov has said Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets' reading of the game is as good as Lionel Messi's.
The pair will come up against United for the first time since 2011 when Barcelona visit Old Trafford in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals on April 10.
Messi will pose the biggest threat to United's chances of making it into the last four but Berbatov has warned his former club of Busquets' quality.
“I like Sergio Busquets, for example. That guy can read the game better than anyone else," Berbatov told ManUtd.com. "Three steps ahead of the opposition, three steps ahead of most of his team-mates – probably not Messi, but up there with him. Unbelievable."
Berbatov also compared himself to the Spanish midfielder.
"Tall as me, slim as me, not the quickest one, but always in the right place. He has that style that I like. Calm. People at the back of him? It doesn’t matter. He’s there, smooth movements.
"I heard they call him ‘octopus’ in Barcelona. He’s unbelievable, it’s a joy to watch him.
"Ok, sometimes it’s ugly as when you’re tall as me or him, sometimes your movement can make for funny angles. It doesn’t matter, it does the job. That’s why I like watching him.
“When I was playing I tried to do the same thing: smooth, anticipate the game, reading of the game, the ball is travelling towards me,
"I’m already watching where the other guy is, did he start to run, did he stand in one place accepting the ball, is someone attacking me from the back? All this stuff needs to be in your head, to anticipate.
"This becomes a style of play.
“Most important, be calm on the ball. I see players who are fighting with the ball, wrestling with the ball… don’t get me wrong, you need to have players like this, you need that mix because this kind of player will take the ball and pass it to you, and then you start to control.
"But for me it was always calm. Someone is coming? Remain calm. This is how I used to play. In football, calm is cool.”
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