Ernesto Valverde and Diego Simeone faced each other on Sunday in the clash in which Barcelona defeated Atlético Madrid 1-0 in La Liga, but after the match the coaches agreed that things could have been completely different if Lionel Messi played for another team.

Argentinean superstar Messi scored a fantastic free kick goal to extend his team's lead over Atlético Madrid to eight points, and his coach Valverde was grateful to have him on his side. "There's no one else like him in the world. I don't know what would have happened if he was at Atlético, and I don't even want to imagine it," said the Barcelona manager after the game.

Get to know a bit more about Lionel Messi, the Barcelona star. (Video: Fernando Falco)

Simeone, who had previously said that there is no way to plan a strategy to neutralize Lionel Messi, praised his fellow countryman without reservation. "If we take Messi's Barcelona jersey off and put on the Atlético jersey, we would win 1-0," said "Cholo" in the press conference. "He is a different player."

Simeone also praised the leader Barcelona's performance, which seems to be on track to win their 25th league title. "I like to see a well-organized and defensively closed Barcelona, playing in a 4-4-2 formation, showing that you can play without a 4-3-3. I love what Valverde is doing. There is no system in football, the system belongs to the players."