Chelsea boss Antonio Conte on Wednesday praised Barcelona forward player Lionel Messi after the Argentinian scored twice to rout out Chelsea 3-0 (4-1 on aggregate) from the Champions League. Speaking at the press conference, the Blues manager described Messi as a “fantastic player”.

“I have to praise the commitment of my players, and be proud because they gave everything. But Messi made the difference and, when you have the opportunity to make a great compliment to Messi, it’s right to praise a super, super, super top player. A player who is able to score 60 goals in every season. Not only for one season. We are talking about an extraordinary player, the best in the world,” he said.

Barcelona forward player Lionel Messi opened the scoring on Wednesday night, putting one behind the back of the net in the third minute of play. He also provided an assist to Ousman Dembele to give the Spanish side a 2-0 lead within 20 minutes. He scored his 100th Champions League goal in the 64th minute, taking his side to an unassailable 3-0 lead in the match.The former Premier League winning manager added that a player like Messi is born once only in 50 years.