Lionel Messi didn't hesitate when naming the only player he's played with who 'knows him to perfection'

Lionel Messi has formed a special understanding with a number of former teammates down the years, but there's only player who knows him "to perfection', according to the man himself.

Last summer, Messi's telepathic teammate joined him at the DRV PNK Stadium.

Jordi Alba is the man who Messi has that unrivalled rapport with and he has become the third Barca legend to join David Beckham's franchise in the same window.

In their pomp at Barca, the two combined to devastating effect. Messi would regularly drift inside and immediately spot the movement in behind the right-back, threading through the pass with a perfect weight and timing.

Alba would gallop in behind and have no problem laying the ball back to him to notch home. In total Alba assisted 23 of Messi's 672 goals for Barca, with only five players ahead of him in the charts.

"Jordi Alba knows me to perfection," he told Catalunya Radio, via the Barca website. "He knows when I will give him a no-look pass. I have a special connection with him."

That expertly disguised pass is undoubtedly Messi's favourite and he busted it out on many an occasion during Argentina's World Cup triumph.

However, Marcos Acuna wasn't exactly on the same wavelength as he struggled to capitalise on the quality service he received down the left flank.

Image credit: Getty

Messi and Alba have quickly already linked up for several goals in their Inter Miami career to date, and it's fair to say their connection is unmatched.

Alba recently opened up on his move to Inter Miami. "I don't get tired of winning," he told CBS Sports.

"I want to keep winning, to keep competing. If I didn't have that excitement I wouldn't have come here. I would have stayed in Barcelona, at home, not playing football. The opportunity was very attractive.

"I also wanted to get back with Leo [Messi] and Busi [Sergio Busquets] and now Luis [Suarez] has also come. So these were the incentives that led me to make that decision."