Lionel Messi Better Than Sergio Aguero, Taunts Luis Enrique Ahead of City Clash

Barcelona boss Luis Enrique has set the wheels in motion for what promises to be a stellar tug-of-war between two of Argentina's attacking aces, proclaiming Lionel Messi's superiority over Manchester City's Sergio Aguero.

The compatriots will meet in February after seeing their clubs drawn against one another in the knockout stages of the Champions League. Enrique told the Manchester Evening News (h/t ESPN):

"He [Aguero] is probably up there in the top 10 or so players, but for me the No. 1 is Leo Messi. Everyone else comes after him."

David Ramos/Getty Images

Messi and Aguero sit as the respective clubs' top scorers so far this season, but all friendships will be put aside come the date of their round-of-16 clash.

However, in the wake of Monday's Champions League draw, Barca's talisman still had a playful manner regarding the contest, posting via his official Facebook account (h/t ESPN's report):

"

Looking forward to playing in the next round of the UEFA Champions League. It'll be really nice to face my friend Sergio Aguero as I always beat him at [videogame] FIFA, but let's see what happens on the pitch.

"

Aguero is currently on the sidelines after injuring knee ligaments in the 1-0 win over Everton earlier in December. However, the Daily Mail's Kieran Gill wrote that the striker is scheduled to miss up to six weeks, putting him on track for a return prior to the meeting with Messi's Barca.

Manuel Pellegrini's main weapon was missing for the 2-0 win over Roma that cemented City's place in the round of 16, but his hat-trick against Bayern Munich the fixture previous to that proved pivotal to their progress.

Opta's Orbinho depicted just how prolific Aguero has been since joining City from Atletico Madrid, comparing his strike rate alongside other Premier League greats:

Messi, on the other hand, has scored 13 La Liga goals in 15 appearances, but European competition has proven a more fruitful hunting ground with eight goals in just six outings.

Neymar would appear to agree with Enrique in viewing Messi as the best in the world—albeit a biased view—giving his Barca team-mate the top vote to win this year's Ballon d'Or, per Sky Sports' Paulo Freitas:

Both the Blaugrana and Manchester City have already suffered defeat in European competition this season and are poised for a finely balanced affair, which Messi and Aguero will seek to dominate for their respective outfits.

Irrespective of which player one believes to be the superior talent, the one assured outcome is that both attackers will have a tremendous influence in seeing which of their sides advances to the quarter-finals.