Former Manchester United defender, Rio Ferdinand, has come out to give some tips on how to stop Lionel Messi, ahead of his old club’s encounter with FC Barcelona.

Rio Ferdinand who lost to Messi and his teammates in 2009 and 2011 UEFA Champions League finals, must have learnt from the defeats and has advised Manchester United not to afford the Barcelona superstar any space to explore.

Ferdinand told Sky sport:

“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.”

He added that United players must not be in awe of Messi’s status.

“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.”

“I’m sure Ole will have a plan for Messi so he won’t be able to play 1v1 during the whole game.”