Sevilla’s Gabriel Mercado has joked he won’t be able to go back to Argentina if he gives Barcelona star Lionel Messi a rough treatment in the Copa del Rey final.

The two sides meet on Saturday evening with the Catalan giants aiming to win the trophy for a fourth successive season.

Messi scored a last-minute equaliser in the 2-2 draw in their last meeting in La Liga and Mercado believes his national team-mate will again be a threat.

“If I smack him obviously I can’t go back to Argentina,” Mercado joked during an interview with AS.

“You can’t stop Messi by fouling him; you put one in on him and he just gets up and carries on, wanting to play football. His only thought on the pitch is how to hurt the opposition and score.”

He added: “He is the best in the world, beyond doubt. He pops up all over the pitch, scores goals, lays them on for his teammates… we’re going to have a lot of work to do in defence and we’ll have to play to perfection. But we are dreaming of winning the cup and nobody’s going to take it from us easily.”