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Lionel Messi is widely regarded as the best player to have graced the sport. During an illustrious career for club and country, Messi has scored goals and won titles galore.
The six-time Ballon d'Or winner, who is versatile across the attacking third, is a goalscorer and creator par excellence. During his prime, Messi used to dribble at pace and pierce the tightest of gaps in opposition defenses. Although his pace has dropped off a bit in recent years, the Copa America 2021 winner retains the ability to impact games in multiple ways.
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After a 17-season association with Barcelona, Messi moved to PSG this summer, where he will look to strike up a devastating partnership with Neymar and Kylian Mbappe and help the Ligue 1 giants win the UEFA Champions League.
Over the years, Messi has been the epitome of sustained brilliance and consistency. But there have been a few occasions when opposition players have had the better of the Argentinian legend. On that note, here's a look at five such instances, in no particular order.
#5 Jose Bosingwa | 2009 UEFA Champions League semis
Jose Bosingwa is not the most illustrious of defenders to have turned out for Chelsea. But the Portuguese produced a standout performance against a feared Barcelona attack comprising of Samuel Eto'o, Thierry Henry and Lionel Messi.
Bosingwa was simply sensational against Messi at the Camp Nou that night as Chelsea returned from the first leg with a highly creditable draw. Thanks to Bosingwa successfully managing to keep Messi quiet, Chelsea became the first team that season to keep a shutout at the Camp Nou.
The former Chelsea defender also did a good job in limiting Barcelona's dangerous trio to only a handful of shots on goal, with Messi especially unable to outrun or outmaneuver Bosingwa that night.
Bosingwa would later reveal how he managed to stop Messi, saying:
“The key to stopping Messi? I studied his movements all day on video and I managed to show people you can stop him without kicking him. I am not the hero, I just did what I was asked to do. Playing at left-back was unusual for me, but I was happy with my work.”
It was a shame Chelsea lost the tie on away goals, as Andres Iniesta's injury-time strike in the second leg took Barcelona through to the final.
#4 Diego Godin | 2016 Champions League quarterfinal
It is not very often Lionel Messi fails to touch the ball in the opposition box all game. But that was exactly what happened when Atletico Madrid faced Barcelona in the deciding leg of their 2015-16 UEFA Champions League quarter-final.
Barcelona had their noses in front going into the second leg, as they won the first leg 2-1 at home. But Atletico Madrid's away goal meant Diego Simeone's side could secure qualification with a 1-0 victory at home.
That is what happened as Antoine Griezmann put Atletico ahead on away goals on the cusp of half-time as the Rojiblancos, led by Diego Godin, produced a defensive masterclass. Thanks to the Uruguayan ace, Barcelona's attacking trident of Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar had an unusually quiet night, with the former forced to take shots from distance.
Messi's night was summed up when his free-kick in injury time, one of his last touches in the game, flew harmlessly wide, with the holders getting knocked out of the competition in the quarterfinals that year.
#3 Virgil van Dijk | 2019 Champions League semifinal second leg
Virgil van Dijk, known as one of the best defenders in the game at the moment, famously stifled Lionel Messi in the 2019 UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg at Anfield.
Trailing by three goals from the first leg and missing a raft of first-team players in the second, Liverpool hoped for a miracle to complete an epic comeback against treble-chasing Barcelona. However, Jurgen Klopp got more than he would have imagined in his wildest dreams.
The game was widely renowned for Georginio Wijnaldum's quickfire double coming off the bench that put Liverpool level on aggregate. But what is forgotten by many is that Van Dijk produced an absolute masterclass at the back, keeping Messi and Luis Suarez quiet all game as Liverpool won 4-0 on the night and 4-3 on aggregate.
Van Dijk had said about the threat of Messi the second leg:
"I think he is the best player in the world. But you see how we play and how we defend. "We don't defend one v one, we defend all together and we attack all together as well so we will see. We will be ready. The situation is that we are in the semifinal against Barcelona and we are going to face the best player in the world but it is not only him, the whole team has a lot of quality."
The Dutchman, who rarely gets dribbled past, more than lived up to his words against Messi and co at Anfield.
#2 Alphonso Davies | 2020 Champions League quarterfinal
Lionel Messi's Barcelona received an absolute hiding against Bayern Munich in the single-legged 2019-20 UEFA Champions League quarter-final.
With the Bavarian giants winning 8-2 on the night, the focus was understandably on their goalscorers. But what did not go missing was how Alphonso Davies tamed Lionel Messi that night.
In one of his marauding runs that night, Davies made a brilliant run down the left flank from the halfway line, beating Messi, Arturo Vidal and Nelson Semedo with a mixture of blistering pace and trickery before laying the ball to Joshua Kimmich for a simple finish.
An elated Bayern coach Hansi Flick said of Davies:
"It's just nice to see it. He has the quality and if he can now do it more often, that's even nicer. He has the confidence, now also against Barcelona."
Bayern went on to win the continental treble that season.
#1 Pablo Maffeo
This may come as a surprise. But out of the plethora of world-class defenders Lionel Messi has faced during his illustrious career, the Argentine himself has picked out little-known Girona left-back Pablo Maffeo as the toughest he has ever faced.
In an interaction with DAZN, Messi said:
"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. Pablo Maffeo of Girona was the toughest man-marker. That was intense!"
Pablo Maffeo is a 24-year-old Spanish left-back who currently plays for RCD Mallorca, on loan from VfB Stuttgart.
