Gerard Pique has admitted that he has run out of superlatives to describe Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi.

Messi scored his third hat-trick in four games at the weekend as Barca came from behind to thump Espanyol 5-1 in La Liga.

"Leo's first goal gave us confidence. There are no words to describe Messi. He has given us so much that I think, I'll say it again, there are no words to describe everything he has given us," Pique told reporters.

Messi has now scored 21 trebles in La Liga.