Bayern Munich travel to the Camp Now for their first leg semi-final encounter, with a large portion of the German squad quietly confident of keeping Messi at bay, as they did when winning the World Cup Final against Argentina last year.
"I have a lot of respect for Messi and for everything that he has achieved. He is very humble," Neuer told L'Equipe.
"But it's crucial to show authority when we meet on the pitch and show him who's boss. I did the same in the World Cup final and this worked out pretty well.
"We will be looking to do the same on Wednesday night. It is vital to obtain a position of dominance and instil respect.
"We have to make good use of our physical presence, our character and show a certain ruthlessness."
Memories of Bayern’s 7-0 humbling of Barca at the same stage of the competition two years ago is still fresh in the mind of all the players, yet Neuer insists that is in the past as his side target a Final berth in their home country.
"The game against Barcelona is a final before the final. Our goal is to make it to the showpiece in Berlin,” he said.
"We dominated Barcelona in both legs in the semi-finals two years ago, but the situation has changed.
"This time, they have no injuries and Messi is back to his best, while we are missing several key players.
"We know that we face a tough task, but I am confident we will get our chances."
Kick-Off in Catalonia is scheduled for 20:45 on Wednesday evening.