Gerard Pique says Manchester United teammate Patrice Evra will have "no problem" keeping quiet Barcelona star Lionel Messi in next week's Champions League semifinal.

"He was always special, ever since he arrived as a 14-year-old," said former Barca junior Pique. "You could see that he was very, very small, but now he is stronger.

"He is still small, but now he has that strength. When he arrived he was weak, but the talent he had was unbelievable. His pace and the quickness of his play makes it very difficult to stop him.

"But we have got a lot of good defenders to stop him. Patrice can handle him no problem."