Xavi, who labeled Messi as the greatest player ever, said that Raheem Sterling could eventually succeed the Argentine as the best player in the world.

"You look at young players who can be crowned the future best in the world and you still think of Neymar, [Kylian] Mbappe, [Mohamed] Salah and of course Sterling. I look at the moment and Sterling is winning that race," said Xavi.

Xavi also gave credit to Pep Guardiola's work to improve Sterling.

"I know how Pep works - he would have worked closely with him since his arrival - where he needs to improve and what he needed to work on. We're now seeing the results of that. He's still young and can be the world's best."