Dele Alli considers Lionel Messi to be “the best player in the world and a joy to watch”, but says Barcelona hold no fear for Tottenham as they “are human and everyone makes mistakes”.
Spurs are set to make a trip to Camp Nou on Tuesday as they take in their final fixture of the Champions League group stage.
Barca are already assured of a place in the last 16, but Mauricio Pochettino’s side have work to do if they are to join the Catalan giants in the knockout rounds.
A positive result will likely be required in the most testing of surroundings, with Alli aware of the size of the challenge facing Spurs – particularly from a five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
The England international said: “He [Messi] is a player that everyone idolised because of what he's achieved in his career.
“For me, he is the best player in the world and he's a joy to watch. To be honest, though, I'm not really concerned about what they do with their players.”
Barca may decide to rest Messi with their progress already secured.
Tottenham, though, are trying to remain focused on their own game, with Alli of the belief that a notable scalp can be secured on the grandest of European nights.
He added: “We are definitely going there with confidence, we know it's going to be a difficult game but they are human and everyone makes mistakes.
“We've just got to make sure that we punish them and be as on it as we can.
“They are one of the best teams in the world, they've got some great players and as a kid you dream about playing at the Nou Camp, and we're going to go there and give it our best shot.
“We're ready. It's going to be another difficult game but they're the games you want to be a part of, playing one of the best teams in the world and some of the world's greatest players.
“You want to be challenging yourself and we're going there with the mentality that we can win and we have to believe.”
Spurs have collected seven points from their five outings in Group B to date, with that return leaving them level with Serie A giants Inter – who face PSV in their final fixture on Tuesday.
