Barcelona smash Rayo Vallecano and Lionel Messi moves to third in the all-time La Liga scoring charts plus highlight of the match

Messi moved above Real Madrid legends Raul and Alfredo Di Stefano as Barca put six goals past the Vallecano side in a one-sided match at the Nou Camp

Lionel Messi moved into joint third place in the all-time scoring charts as ­Barcelona warmed up for their Champions League showdown with Manchester City as they demolished Rayo Vallecano.

Messi struck in the 36th and 68th minutes of a one-sided match at the Nou Camp to move above Alfredo Di Stefano (227) in the record books and level with another Real Madrid legend, Raul, on 228 La Liga goals.

At just 26 it now seems only a matter of time before Messi claims the record, which is the 251 goals scored by former Athletic Bilbao star Telmo Zarra.

Hugo Sanchez is second on the list and next in Messi’s sights with 234 goals for Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and Rayo.

Rayo must be wishing they could still call on the Mexico ace as they battle to avoid relegation, but even he would have been ­powerless to prevent the Madrid outfit from being swept aside by Barca.

Adriano opened the ­floodgates in the second minute and Alexis Sanchez (53), Pedro Rodriguez (56) and a fantastic Neymar goal added to Messi’s double as Barca reclaimed top spot in La Liga from Atletico Madrid, who won earlier on Saturday.

Messi, who has now scored 337 goals in all competitions for Barca, made way for Cristian Tello as Martino opted to give his superstar a break ahead of the trip to Manchester, but for Rayo the misery did not end there.

The performance also fired out an ominous warning to European ­opponents City, who host to Gerardo Martino’s men on Tuesday night in the first leg of their last-16 tie.