Boca Juniors attacker Carlos Tevez said that sometimes when he watches Argentina forward Lionel Messi play football, he can't believe how good his compatriot is.
"Just as you are surprised by him, sometimes he also surprises us," Tevez told TyC Sports in Argentina earlier this week. "There is no player at his level. It seems like he is playing a different sport.
Messi returned to international play last week after missing the first set of 2018 World Cup qualifiers last fall with an injury. The South American nation struggled in his absence, but last week, they beat both Chile and Bolivia to move up the CONMEBOL qualifying table now with 11 points in third place.
In the 2-1 victory over Bolivia, the Barcelona star also scored his 50th international goal.
"It is easy to play with Messi but difficult at the same time because he is someone you can't understand. He is 'not-understandable.' He plays something else, whereas we are all playing football. The same thing happens to me when I go to golf tournaments, they play something else, a different sport. Messi is beyond everyone."
Heading into Saturday's Clasico against Real Madrid, Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic has compared teammate Messi to renowned Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi.
Argentina coach Gerardo Martino did not include former Juventus star Tevez on the squad for last week's World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Bolivia, but the 32-year-old said he is working to be fit for this summer's Copa America Centenario.
Tevez said that the way Messi dodged defenders always impresses him.
"A ball that you think is impossible to reach, he gets it, and he passes through three or four players in a way that would be impossible for the rest of us," he told TyC Sports. "He speeds by you at a thousand kilometres per hour. It is hard for the rest of us.
"When Messi is with the team, they get fired up and they play even better," Tevez said. "Barcelona also plays a different game with him on the field. There is no other player like him."
Tevez moved back to Boca after two years in Turin for a fee of €6.5 million. He signed for Juve from Manchester City in 2013 and scored 20 Serie A goals in 2014-15 as the Old Lady won a fourth straight league title in 2015 as well as the Coppa Italia.
In early November, Boca were celebrating a Copa Argentina final win to add to the league title they'd claimed days earlier. But the past month has been challenging and last month sacked coach Rodolfo Arruabarrena in favour of Guillermo Barros Schelotto.
On Friday, Tevez voiced his frustration with his boyhood club and the struggles.
"There are days when I ask myself, 'Why the heck did I come back?'" Tevez told TyC Sports. "That is the question I ask myself when things aren't going well or when I am heading a lot of destructive criticism. But I have a clear answer: I returned for my family, for the club that I love and to help build a better Boca."