Former Manchester United defender Wes Brown has recalled the tactics of Sir Alex Ferguson when facing Barcelona star Leo Messi.

United and Barca are set to meet in the Champions League quarterfinals.

Brown said of the 2008 final: "Don't dive in'.

"I remember those words going round and round in my head before we played Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals. I'd had it drilled into me by the gaffer. More often than not, it would be my job to keep an eye on Lionel Messi, and the instructions were simple.

"Don't. Dive. In. Over and over again, that was the message.

"Messi was only 20 at the time, but he was already one of the best players in the world. Everybody knew all about him. He and Ronny were only young, but they'd both just finished in the top three for the Ballon d'Or. Obviously we trained with Ronny every day, but this was the first time we were coming up against Messi and it was something we were excited about."