Barcelona defender Gerard Pique described team-mate Lionel Messi as a "special footballer" after his hat-trick in the Blaugrana's 4-1 win over Real Betis on Sunday.
The Spaniard paid tribute to his captain after he fired Barca to their fifth consecutive win in La Liga with one of the performances of the season.
"He's a special footballer," he said, perMarca. "There have been others throughout history, but Leo has been doing this for 14 years. He's unique in that there's nobody like him in history."
Messi picked out the top corner with a lovely free-kick after 18 minutes, and he fired home a second on the stroke of half-time when he latched on to Luis Suarez's audacious backheel.