Wayne Rooney has described Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi as the best football player ever.

Messi, who starred in the side's 7-1 Champions League win over Leverkusen last night, scored five goals en route to a 10-2 aggregate win in the second leg of their showdown in the last 16.

"Messi is a joke," the Manchester United striker wrote on Twitter. "For me the best ever."

The Argentinian is now joint in sixth place with Alfredo Di Stefano on the list of the Champions League's all-time top scorers.

He is the first man to ever score five goals in a single Champions League match.