Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted that Lionel Messi and Barcelona are in a different class from Manchester United after their Champions League dream died.

Messi scored twice in the space of four minutes last night as United lost 3-0 to exit at the quarter-final stage 4-0 on aggregate.

On a night when Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus went out to Ajax in Turin, Solskjaer acknowledged that United’s emphatic defeat highlighted the task facing him to make the club a major force in Europe again.

‘Messi’s different class,’ said Solskjaer. ‘He and Ronaldo have been the best players of the last decade. Now tonight Messi shows his quality.

‘That is the Barcelona team here, and that’s the level we have to aspire to. We can get there but we have loads of work to do.

‘If we want to get back to United’s true traditions and level, we know we have to challenge the Barcelonas. I have to say they were a couple of levels above tonight and at Old Trafford.

‘We did well to get here but you could see the difference between the two teams. The quality of their finishing was absolutely outstanding.

‘We know there’s work to be done. I’ve said all along this isn’t going to change overnight. The next few years are going to be massive to get to the level of Barcelona and other teams.

Adapted from Daily Mail UK