This powerhouse club - boasting names like Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andrés Iniesta - peaked the interest of Rowles, despite being halfway across the world in the Illawarra. The Mount Warrigal-born talent dreamed of one day meeting some of their biggest stars and, on Wednesday night, he will go one step better when he lines up for the A-Leagues All Stars in their exhibition match against Barcelona.

"Everyone's really excited. We've got a good bunch of blokes here and the coaching staff has been incredible. It's just going to be awesome to play against some of the best players in the world," Rowles told the Mercury.

"I grew up knowing about them, Real Madrid and the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Bayern Munich. But especially with the dominance of Messi, Xavier and Iniesta, you watched them and tried to base your game off them and stuff like that.

'They're such a massive club, even over here in Australia. We were so far away from them, but they've had such an influence on all us young kids."

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Barcelona announced on Monday that they would be bringing a near-full strength squad to Sydney. Long gone are the likes of Messi, but the La Liga giants still boasts names such as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Frenkie de Jong and Dani Alves.

The match is being held ahead of the A-Leagues grand final between Melbourne City and Western United, who won't have any representatives on Wednesday night.

However, the All Stars line-up - who will wear a specially designed kit - still boasts plenty of stars, including Milos Ninkovic, Jason Cummings and Jack Rodwell. The majority of the squad was assembled by fan voting, with the remainder picked by APL Commissioner Greg O'Rourke and coaching staff.

"It's amazing. You're putting our boys against one of the best teams in the world, it's a really good opportunity for us to show what we can do against quality opposition," Rowles said. "At the same time, kids and families might not be able to travel to Spain at the drop of a hat, so to have the opportunity to be in Sydney and watching it is great for everyone.

"It feels good to be picked, for whatever reason - whether it's form or people like me. It's good to know that people see the hard yards that you put in all year. It feels really good to be rewarded with this opportunity."

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Rowles' selection came on the back of an impressive campaign with Central Coast where he played 25 games in defence. It continues a strong run of form for the 24-year-old, who lined up in 27 matches last season on his way to claiming the prestigious Mariners Medal and Players' Player awards.

"Sometimes it takes a couple of years to get your body in the right shape to be able to play each week, and play at a high standard," Rowles said. "I feel like I'm getting where I need to be, but obviously still got a long way to go in the scheme of things. But it's been a good ride so far."

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