Fans are convinced Lionel Messi 'meant' his astonishing assist for Neymar

Messi wasted no time influencing the game, incredibly setting up Neymar in the ninth minute of their fixture on Saturday.

Pablo Sarabia played a ball into Messi who delicately flicked the ball behind him with his weaker right foot.

He appeared to guide the ball to his Brazilian teammate who fired home with a low drive.

Did Messi mean his pass to Neymar? Well, fans online reckon so.

One tweeted: "The touch - he meant to do it, didn’t he? It’s absolutely incredible, you can tell by the way he’s looking over his shoulder that it’s intentional."

A second wrote: "Messi meant that and no one is telling me otherwise."

A third added: "What an assist."