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He makes it more exciting - Messi lauds rival Oblak as 'one of the best goalkeepers in the world'

Lionel Messi has heaped praise on Atletico Madrid shotstopper Jan Oblak, hailing him as "one of the best goalkeepers in the world" while admitting he relishes the challenge of trying to best him.

The Slovenia international, who joined Diego Simeone's side from Benfica in 2014, has established himself as one of the finest keepers in the game in recent years, and remains a lynchpin performer for Los Rojiblancos.

Earlier this year, he became the goalkeeper to achieve a century of clean sheets in La Liga with the least number of games, beating out Miguel Reina's previous record of 222 by a whopping 40 matches.