Barcelona ace Lionel Messi says Argentina's squad fear Manchester United's England star Wayne Rooney.

Messi insisted that Rooney can form a formidable trio along with Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard.

Argentina ace Messi told The Sun: "I think Wayne is a great, great player, not just for what he did this year.

"For many years now he's been showing that he's one of the greatest players of his generation and year by year he's improving and becoming stronger.

"He's the complete player. Very good with the ball at his feet, he has huge strength and scores goals.

"I think he makes his rivals fear him. In the Premier League and in the Champions League with Manchester United and also with England. Any defender that comes up against Rooney has a lot of respect for him because of everything he has achieved.

"Gerrard and Lampard are great players also for England. Apart from playing well they also know when to get in the box and they score a lot of goals. They are two of the best around."