Rio Ferdinand has warned Manchester United's defenders not to be overawed by Barcelona striker Lionel Messi.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side host the La Liga giants in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final at Old Trafford on Wednesday night and will be hoping to keep Messi quiet.
The Argentine has scored eight goals in six appearances in the Champions League already this season and an impressive 33 goals in 29 appearances in La Liga so United's centre backs will be in for a tough night.
Ferdinand faced the five time Ballon d'Or winner while playing for United and has given the current crop some words of advice.
"Barca have a certain way of playing which is possession based football and they press you when they haven’t got the ball, so they (United) have got to be very mindful of that," he told BT Sport. "But it will come down to the little man, Messi.
"How do they stop him and combat him? They can’t afford to give him space. If they give him space to turn and front up he’s going to cause huge problems."
The players stayed the night before the game at their usual city centre team hotel and Ferdinand said the majority of the prep needed to be done in the night before and win the mental battle before stepping out on the pitch.
"What the players have to do is make sure they’re not in awe of him, he’s a superstar, a legend, one of the best to ever play the game but they've got to take that out of their thinking before the game and that’s half the job," Ferdinand added.
"Half the battle is the mental battle before the game, if they can sort that out. I’m sure Ole will have a plan for him (Messi) so he won’t be able to play 1v1 during the whole game. Ole has to be thinking about not conceding and hopefully nicking a goal and taking it to the Nou Camp and having something to play for."
United defender Chris Smalling was asked about the prospect of facing Messi at Tuesday's press conference.
"Something to relish, this season lucky enough to face Ronaldo and Mbappe and now Messi, they’re challenges I relish, I say bring it on," he replied.
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