Montevideo: Luis Suarez hailed the ability of "incredible" Lionel Messi to remain grounded at Barcelona despite his massive achievements.

Messi has been a team player throughout his time at Nou Camp, with the 30-year-old proving to be a selfless colleague to Suarez and the rest.

"Leo is my colleague and friend, a fine person and a great family man," Suarez told German magazine Kicker on the man he has spent four memorable seasons alongside.

"I do not see in him the Messi that the rest of the world sees. But there are moments on the field with me, too, when I realise what a great footballer he is and what incredible things he does."

The Uruguay international added on a fellow South American who has helped him star at Barca with his actions on and off the field. "We are not only footballers, we are also fathers, we have similar habits and are almost of the same age.

"We enjoy having fun, drinking, sometimes eating together... This has resulted in a beautiful relationship. And over time a big trust as well.

"In football it is difficult to find a real friend, especially if he plays in the same position. There are also many egos in a team. That was never the case in our team. Leo has no ego. That has been proven over the years.

"He also helped me to win the Golden Boot. There is no jealousy between us, just pride at sharing things with a friend."

There was a time when Suarez and Messi formed part of a fearsome trio of attacking talent at Barcelona, with Brazilian star Neymar joining them in the destructive 'MSN' unit.

Neymar, however, left for Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2017 after deciding to become a talisman in his own right. Suarez claimed that Neymar had doubts about whether he was making the right choice before heading to France, but the 26-year-old is being backed to fulfil his potential with the Ligue I champions.

"We talked to him, Messi and I, because Neymar asked us for our opinion," said Suarez. "He had doubts. He was here for a long time and he had everything he needed here.

"I don't think he went for the money. He has other goals he wants to achieve with Paris."

Suarez feels that the reason their combination at Barcelona worked so well was because he and Neymar had so much respect for Messi. "A guy from Uruguay, another from Argentina and one from Brazil - they all said it couldn't work," Suarez added.

"But it did. Because we both had respect for Messi, who's the best player in the world. But also because of Neymar's talent, which already makes him a Ballon d'Or candidate now.

"And I stuck to my role, looked for space on the pitch and knew I had to make good runs to get chances. It was about building a good relationship, without any enviousness," Suarez said. Agencies