Barcelona defender Jordi Alba has claimed that Cristiano Ronaldo will never be able to get to Lionel Messi's level.

Ronaldo became the leading goalscorer in Champions League history once again by edging ahead of Messi with a hat-trick as Real Madrid cruised to a 4-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday night.

However, Alba insists that Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi still deserves to be recognised as the best player in the world.

"If we are realistic and forget team loyalties, you cannot compare Messi with any other player," Alba told reporters. "The best in the world is Leo Messi.

"Ronaldo is a fantastic player, he scores a lot of goals and is really complete, but what Messi does nobody else can or ever will do. When Leo is on the field, everything turns in favour of Barca. He is five steps above the rest."

Barcelona begin their Champions League campaign against Roma on Wednesday.