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Cape Town - Chelsea
forward Pedro gave his take on Tuesday's Champions League clash against
his former club Barcelona, and Lionel Messi in particular.
The two clubs have met 10 times before in the competition, but Messi has yet to score against the Blues in eight attempts ahead of the first leg at Stamford Bridge.
"Messi is the best player in the world, but he's not invincible," Pedro said, having played alongside the Argentine between 2008 and his move to London in 2015.
"Obviously, it's Barcelona. It's Leo Messi. It's very difficult to stop this guy because he's very quick, very clever. But, look, it's not impossible.
"He's on another level. No one can do what he does. For this reason, to have played with him is special. Special for me, and something to tell my sons in the future because, probably, he'll be considered the best in history."
The last time the two sides met competitively was in April 2015, when Chelsea pulled off an improbable 3-2 win on aggregate en route to the final against Bayern Munich.
"I remember these games so well," added Pedro, who was on the other side back then. "Chelsea were always horrible opponents, very difficult in these games: compact, strong in defence, pressed very well.
"For that reason, we always found it difficult against them. For the players of Barcelona, they'll be thinking this tie is going to be very tough, this game for them, because Chelsea are strong. Chelsea are compact, and it's never easy to play against us."
Kick-off is at 21:45 (SA time).
