lionel messi has compared barcelona's mouthwatering clash against eternal rivals real madrid later this month to the bitter south american rivalry between brazil and argentina barca host real in the second el clasico fixture of the season on march 22   with both teams tussling for the la liga title the catalan club currently hold a one point advantage over carlo ancelotti's side with just 12 games of the season remaining lionel messi has compared barcelona's fierce rivalry with real madrid to brazil versus argentina  messi (pictured, centre, playing for argentina in 2008) has played in many tense encounters against brazil  messi (pictured, centre, playing for barca in 2011) has scored more el clasico goals than anyone in history  the diminutive no 10 (centre right) enjoyed a bbq with his barcelona team mates on wednesday afternoon  messi spoke in an interview with fourfourtwo  and looking ahead to the nou camp encounter messi, who has scored more clasico goals than anyone else in the history of the fixture, describes the occasion as one to relish 'the clasico, which is coming up later in this month, is obviously a special game,' he told fourfourtwo magazine 'it's important for what it means to everyone involved, from the players to the fans 'it's an event all around the world as a player, though, you have to treat it like any other game like any derby, there's something extra to the game 'they're amazing to play in and it's a fixture i've been very lucky to score a lot of goals in 'i think on the international stage, brazil vs argentina is similar to real madrid v barca both matches involve big teams who have a great rivalry, the main difference being that for the former it's all about the countries, while barcelona isn't just about the city, but the fans from afar who have feelings for the club' the 27 year old is enjoying another wonderful season at barcelona having netted an incredible 41 goals so far messi scored a hat trick in sunday's 6 1 la liga win at home to rayo vallecano   his fifth treble of the campaign speaking about what makes him so special, the dimunitive no 10 insists his genius is all instinctive 'some people say my style of play is innate, but i'm not sure if that's me, or not honestly, i do play on instinct,' he added 'on the pitch, i’m always looking for the best move or decision at any given time i never want to do what the opposition would be expecting' messi (centre) scored a hat trick as barcelona won 6 1 at home to rayo vallecano in la liga on sunday  to read the full  interview with lionel messi it is available in either print of digital format via the fourfourtwo magazine website
march 22 barca el clasico real madrid la liga lionel messi barcelona
barcelona entertain eternal rivals real madrid in la liga on march 22  barca currently sit one point above real at the top of the table  lionel messi has scored more el clasico goals than anyone in history 