Lionel Messi is in another world says James Rodriguez

James Rodriguez thinks that he cannot be compared to Lionel Messi ahead of their Copa clash

James Rodriguez has played down any 'James vs Messi duel' ahead of Colombia's quarter-final match against Argentina by saying that such a comparison would be 'unfair' to the Argentine. The Real Madrid star conceded that Lionel Messi is unique and in a different league and that comparing himself to the Barcelona star would be improper.

"Messi is in another world," the Colombian said. "He is a unique player, and you cannot talk about a James versus Messi duel because that would be unfair to him. Colombia is playing against a tough team with great players."

Colombia and Argentina who are both pre-tournament favourites given their star-studded line-ups will face-off for a place in the semifinals of the tournament on Saturday.

James who had a stellar World Cup campaign in 2014 has had a subdued tournament so far in Chile. The Real Madrid star is yet to hit top gear in the tournament and admits that he is not happy with his performances so far. He says that he hates playing badly but feels he was unable to play with freedom due to the tight nature of the games.

"I never want to play badly, I always try and help the team, but things do not always go as you want," he said during a press conference. "In these three games, I have had few spaces, they were tight and intense games, and I could not play much."

The midfielder refused to comment when asked about what he thought about the decision by Neymar to leave the squad rather than accompany the team for the remaining games. "I cannot get into that, I am not a referee," he said. "Neymar is taking the decision to leave, it's a personal matter, I'm not getting into it."