Former Real Madrid managers asks Lionel Messi to be banned

Barcelona superstar Lionel Mess is so good that he should be banned from football until he can prove he is human, former Real Madrid manager Carlos Queiroz joked in a recent interview with FIFA.com.

Messi has been in stupendous form once again this season – leading Barcelona on all fronts as the Catalans are still alive in all the Cup competitions. They also have a seven-point lead at the top of La Liga whilst enjoying a lead of 14 points over bitter rivals Real Madrid with a game in hand.

At the international level, he has become a symbol hope for his country and it was his hat-trick that sealed a 3-1 win over Ecuador in the World Cup qualifier to secure La Pulga’s place in the competition this summer.

Queiroz, who was the Real manager for the 2003/04 season is currently in charge of the Iran national team – who were in the same World Cup group as Argentina in 2014.

The former Manchester United assistant manager (who has been in charge of Iran since 2011) saw his side nearly clinch an unlikely draw at the last World Cup only for the diminutive forward to score in injury time and once again prove his worth.

"I've always said that Messi is an extraordinary player," he told FIFA.com. "He's out of this world. If he were human, he wouldn't have had that magical moment in that match.”

"I don't usually like losing, but I didn't come away from that defeat with a negative feeling. It's when something magical like that happens that you know that football is alive and kicking, and that's why it's one of the best sports in the world to watch,” the 64-year-old added.

"And it's even more of a special moment when it comes from a player who shouldn't be allowed to play by FIFA until it's proven that he's actually human!"

Iran and Queiroz’s taks doesn’t get any simpler this season as they are in group that has 2010 winners Spain and European champions Portugal who has another five-time Ballon d’Or winner in their ranks.

"It's going to be special, as it always is when you take on great players. In this case, it's the best player in the world," he said.

"But when the match starts there are just two teams who are trying to win. Football will decide who wins the day and who was better on the field of play.

"The memories stay with you, of course they do, especially in shared projects, like we had at Manchester and the Portuguese national team. That was a long time ago, though.

"Times have changed and now I've got other Ronaldos with me. They're important players… the likes of [Alireza] Jahanbakhsh, [Reza] Ghoochannejad, [Ali] Karimi. These are the Ronaldos I've got to look after now and who I've got to pay attention to achieve the success we all want.”