The Argentina legend, Lionel Messi is no stranger to defenders paying special attention to him on a football field. The 32-year-old’s ability to turn a match on its head at any given time in the game has forced a lot of managers to man-mark the Argentine during games. Though an effective technique, it hardly works when applied on Messi as the Barcelona ace somehow finds a way to the goal.
Since making his debut for the Spanish giants back in 2004, the Argentina international has regularly locked horns with some of the world’s best defenders. The 32-year-old has enjoyed plenty of battles with Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos in El Clasico, while the likes of Nemanja Vidic and Thiago Silva have also sought to find a way to stop Messi.
But when asked in an extensive interview with DAZN about the toughest opponent he had faced, the Barca legend opted for a somewhat left-field choice.
Lionel Messi has named Girona defender Pablo Maffeo as the toughest of the opponents he has ever encountered in his glorious trophy-laden career.
He dropped the likes of Sergio Ramos, Pepe, and Javier Zanetti to pick the Girona man as the toughest man-marker in his illustrious career.
“Man-marking doesn’t bother me – you know that there will be tough matches and it can be strange to always have someone around you,”
“In truth, it hasn’t happened to me that often. It doesn’t bother me, but it is strange.”
Though he’s often locked horns with Real Madrid center-back Sergio Ramos, while Casemiro has also been tasked with dealing with the Barca captain in the past, Messi singled out Spanish right-back Maffeo as a difficult opponent.
“I don’t remember [who the toughest man marker has been], truly. The one from Girona [Pablo Maffeo], maybe. That was exaggerated,”
“I never complained about it. I think that contact and kicks are part of football,” he added.
It does bother me when the tackles have bad intentions. If that isn’t the case, then it’s part of the game and I don’t take it badly.
Ex-Cityzens’ defender Maffeo came up against Messi during two loan spells away from the Etihad Stadium at Girona, who is part-owned by the City Football Group.
The 22-year-old left the Etihad in 2018 and moved to Stuttgart, but suffered the agony of relegation from the Bundesliga in his first season with the outfit.
Maffeo rejoined Girona on loan last summer and has become a regular fixture in defense as they look to secure a return to La Liga having dropped into the Segunda Division last season.
