It was a privilege to watch Lionel Messi on Wednesday when he produced a performance that will live long in the memory . There have been times over the last 12 months , particularly at the World Cup , when I wondered whether we had seen the best of him but what he did against Manchester City was magnificent proof that he is still the best around . What he did to City — and the way he has played since Christmas — makes me think he has jumped back above Cristiano Ronaldo in their struggle to be football ’ s No 1 . It will make their battle in this weekend ’ s Clasico even more intriguing . Lionel Messi was in inspired form against Manchester City and proved he is still the best around . Cristiano Ronaldo has struggled of late and Messi may have jumped back above the Real Madrid star . I am hoping that the Champions League will produce the dream final of Barcelona versus Bayern Munich — I will be in Berlin on June 6 — and it would be fascinating to see Messi in this form in a showdown against his mentor . We all saw Pep Guardiola ’ s reaction to Messi ’ s trickery during the game and , afterwards in Barcelona , I was among a group from Sky that went for some dinner when we were fortunate to bump into Bayern ’ s manager . He gave us a couple of moments of his time and , inevitably , Guardiola was asked whether he fancied coming up against Messi when the quarter-final draw was made . Bayern , after all , have been in outstanding form , scoring goals for fun , but his reaction was telling . ‘ No ! No ! No ! ’ said Guardiola . ‘ If I have to face Messi , I want it to be in one game rather than two ! ’ If they do happen to face each other in Berlin — and after Friday 's draw it is not wrong to expect Barcelona and Bayern Munich to reach the semi-finals at least — we could safely say we will be in for a rare treat . Milner slides as Messi nutmegs him and goes the opposite way during their Champions League match . Messi slips the ball through Manchester City midfielder Milner 's legs at the Nou Camp . James Milner approaches Barcelona star Messi during their Champions League tie on Wednesday . Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola ( centre ) reacts to the ridiculous skill from Messi during the match .
It was a privilege to watch Pep Guardiola against Manchester City . The Argentine forward is back at his best unlike Cristiano Ronaldo . Barcelona host Real Madrid in El Clasico on Sunday at the Nou Camp . Bayern Munich manager Lionel Messi admitted that he does not want to face Messi - his former player - over two legs in the Champions League .