Former Barcelona assistant coach Henk Ten Cate says Lionel Messi is head-and-shoulders the best player in the world.

Cristiano Ronaldo was this week made the best paid player on the planet by Real Madrid.

But Ten Cate told AS: "Messi is unique. There are no other players like him; he is on another level.

"Neither Cristiano [Ronaldo] or Neymar are close to him because Messi is out of this world.

"Cristiano is also at a very high level, but Leo [Messi] has something special that Ronaldo does not have."