Terry's five-year-old twins, Georgie and Summer, have their own Messi shirts to go alongside their Blues strips, with the Barca star having become almost as much of a hero to them as their own father.
"My kids love him," Terry said. "It's a pleasure because when you finish and you look back - and the guy's still going to be going strong - you've tested yourself against the best. And, quite clearly for me, he's the best ever."
He added: "He's a great individual, a great person as well and a credit to the sport. For me, he's got everything. He is magical."
Confirming his children had Messi replica shirts, Terry declared he wanted to show them he could do more than just be on the same field as the 24-year-old.
"It's obviously nice to say, 'We've done this, we've done that', but it's all about winning for me," he said, insisting he wanted to emulate Messi by winning the Champions League.
"We've not done that yet. That's our aim, that's our target, and that's always been the aim since the owner came in.
"He's very keen for that as well."
Source: PA
Source: PA