I thought United were the only team that existed in Manchester! Alves claims he'd never heard of City until five years ago

Manuel Pellegrini kicked off the biggest week of his Manchester City career by insisting his side are a bigger club than neighbours United.

That view, however, has hardly travelled across to Spain, where Barcelona star Dani Alves admitted he hadn't even heard of City until a few years ago.

Alves and his Barca team-mates take on City at the Etihad on Tuesday night in the home side's first-ever Champions League knockout tie.

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Strike a pose: Barca star Dani Alves, training at the Etihad, admits he hadn't heard of City five years ago

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The only ones? Alves (left) takes a shot past Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand in 2012

'I didn't realise until about five years ago that Manchester had two teams,' said Alves. 'Of course Manchester United have been one of the most famous and successful clubs in Europe for many years - but I thought they were the only one.'

'When Manchester City got new owners and started buying some of the best players in Europe everybody knew who they were - but until then I must be honest I didn't know about them.

I think this is the reality of modern football. You don't need ten or 20 years to establish yourself - if you have rich owners you can do it in two or three years. It doesn't matter if I or anybody else agree with it - it is just the reality of today.'

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Kept on his toes: Manuel Pellgrini is overseeing Manchester City's first Champions League knockout game

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Star man: Lionel Messi itrains at the Eithad ahead of the Champions League clash

However, Alves was under no illusion of the threat Pellegrini's side pose to the Spanish champions, even if the Barcelona head into the tie as favourites.

City have led the way in Europe in terms of goals, netting an incredible 117 times in all competitions so far.

He said: 'We have to give Manchester City total respect because they have so many great players.

'They have shown as an attacking force they are very strong - and their midfield and forward players have been scoring a lot of goals. 

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Reach out: Barca defenders Javier Mascherano (right) and Adriano share a joke during training

'We need to make sure that doesn't happen on Tuesday - and we have a very experienced defence capable of stopping them.

'We know at home they are very strong - but nobody in Barcelona is thinking of a draw - that would compromise everything that we stand for. We must acknowledge they are a very strong team - but our objective will be what it always is and that is to win.'