Rome, May 28 (ANI): Heartbroken striker Wayne Rooney has admitted that Manchester United lost to a better team in the Champions League dream, but refused to hail Barcelona's Lionel Messi. Instead, he dubbed Andres Iniesta the world's best player.

"It's disappointing, but I thought Barcelona were the better team tonight and deserved to win. They scored a good goal early on and Messi's was a great goal at a difficult time for us. They deserved to win. I've never played against a better team than this Barcelona. They're a brilliant team," The Sun quoted Rooney, as saying.

Rooney added: "Iniesta for me is the best player in the world, he's incredible.

They're a great team, pass the ball well and if you don't take your chances they punish you, which is what they did tonight. We're still a young team and can come back I hope. We're very disappointed tonight but we can still look forward to next season."

United boss Alex Ferguson admitted the Red Devils were chasing a lost cause after Eto'o struck.

United veteran Ryan Giggs, 35, was looking to pick up his third winner's medal to add to his triumphs in 1999 and 2008.

But he admitted: "At times Barcelona can make you look silly because they keep the ball so well." (ANI)