Barcelona centre-back Samuel Umtiti has revealed that Lionel Messi regularly 'treats his teammates like cones' during training sessions for the Spanish giants.
Umtiti, who joined the Spanish champions from Lyon in the summer, has also paid tribute to Messi's work-rate, which the Frenchman believes has played a key role in the attacker's status in the sport.
"He has so much ease on the ball. His talent is innate although he works a lot. In training he does things that are out for the normal. Sometimes he dribbles past everyone as if we were nothing more than cones, including me," Umtiti told Sport.
Messi has scored 19 times in 16 appearances for Barcelona this season, but the Catalan giants will enter Saturday's El Clasico with Real Madrid six points behind their rivals in the La Liga table.