Spain midfielder Pedri has hailed Argentina captain Lionel Messi after his vintage displays at this summer’s FIFA World Cup.Lionel Messi has been in terrific form this World Cup. (REUTERS)Messi, who turned 39 last week, has lit up the tournament across his first two group games, scoring all five of Argentina’s goals, including a first World Cup hat-trick, to seal his team’s progress to the knockout stage.Despite his age, he has shown few signs of rust, leaving fellow players and viewers all over the world delighted and astonished in equal measure. His former teammate Pedri is the latest to join that chorus.The two spent the 2020–21 season together at Barcelona, after Pedri arrived from Las Palmas and before Messi departed for Paris Saint-Germain. They were teammates for just one season, where they lifted the Copa del Rey together, but even that brief experience was more than enough to leave a lasting impression on the young Spaniard.In an interview with DSports, Pedri spoke of his unparalleled admiration for the legendary attacker. "I had the luck of being able to play and train with him and I enjoyed and learned a lot from him. Now, well, I enjoy [watching] him very much," the Spanish star explained.Also Read - Ecuador's great escape: From goal drought to World Cup giant-killersPedri, a similar profile of intelligent midfielder who operates in pockets of space, pointed out: "You see the game on TV, and if you just start looking at him, he is looking where the free gap is or where he is going to be able to receive alone. He sees football a little before the others and knows where to be to score a goal," Pedri continued.”Messi better than the restWhat sets Messi apart from his contemporaries is his game intelligence and positional awareness. Messi, simply put, is always a step ahead, a touch faster to react, always planning his next move. That advantage is one he creates for himself, and that sheer quality is what has kept him sharp and lethal even at the age of 39."Of quality he is overflowing, he has more than all the others. I think that what he does with the age he has, only he can do."Messi’s goals at the World Cup have seen him break many records — he is now the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history with 18 goals, the player with the most wins (18), the most goal involvements (26), the most games played (28), the oldest World Cup hat-trick (aged 38y 357d), the dual honour of being Argentina’s youngest and oldest goalscorer at a World Cup, and more. But it is a different record he is chasing – of captaining his nation to back-to-back World Cup trophies.