Lionel Messi 'the best player ever' says Pep Guardiola

Lionel Messi has been hailed as the greatest soccer player the world has ever seen following his extraordinary exploits for European champions Barcelona.

The 22-year-old has scored 10 goals in his past four games, including two hat-tricks in consecutive Spanish league matches.

The diminutive Argentina forward has kept Barcelona in the hunt for a second successive La Liga title, and his two goals against Stuttgart last Wednesday helped put the Champions League titleholders into the quarterfinals of Europe's premier club competition.

Is Messi better than Maradona?

Sunday's treble against Zaragoza was his third this season, and his fifth since making his debut in 2004, taking him to 25 league goals this campaign -- five more than closest rival Gonzalo Higuain of Real Madrid, and two past his tally from last season with 11 games still to play. That he's capable of doing everything that he does at his age is impressive. It doesn't make any sense

Messi is now third on Barcelona's all-time scoring list, and has the chance to net his 200th goal for the club in Wednesday's league game against Osasuna.