"I was disappointed" - When Lionel Messi named the one game in his career he 'deeply regrets' missing

Former Barcelona star Lionel Messi had once talked about feeling disappointed to miss the 2006 UEFA Champions League final against Arsenal. The Argentine ace, 18 then, had to sit out of the Paris showpiece due to a hamstring injury.

Barcelona won 2-1, with Samuel Eto'o and Juliano Belletti netting late on to cancel out Sol Campbell's early opener for the Gunners. As fate would have it, Messi would go on to win the competition thrice with the Blaugrana: 2009, 2011 and 2015. He scored in the first two finals, both against Manchester United.

While it surely must have made up for the disappointment of 2006, Lionel Messi had once revealed how much it bothered him. Speaking to Spanish publication AS in 2021, he revealed (via SPORTbible):

“I'm sorry I didn't (go out). I didn't realise what was happening. At least I would have liked to be on the bench that night. Until my injury, (against Chelsea in the round of 16), I participated in every Champions League game in my career.

“I was disappointed. I deeply regret that episode. We won that Champions League, and I was not sure what would happen again because it is a difficult competition to win," he added.

Lionel Messi ended up having another crack at the finals three years later, when Barcelona took on Manchester United in Rome. He consolidated their win with a stupendous header as Pep Guardiola's swashbuckling side ran out 2-0 victors.

Two years later in 2011, the Spanish giants encountered United in a rematch, this time at the Wembley, where Messi scored their second goal, just like he did in 2009.

In the 2015 final, the Barca legend didn't bag a goal or an assist but was heavily involved in creating all three of their goals as the La Liga giants beat Juventus 3-1 in Berlin.

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Lionel Messi loved playing Arsenal with Barcelona

Lionel Messi not only got the chance to win the Champions League but also face Arsenal a couple of times after the two sides had clashed in the 2006 final.

His first came in 2010, when Messi famously netted four goals at the Camp Nou to take the Gunners to the cleaners. Just a year later, he came back to haunt them again with another strike in a 3-1 win.

Five years later, the Argentine came up against them once more, netting both their goals in a 2-0 win at the Emirates in the first leg and scoring one more in the return leg.

With nine goals in six games, Arsenal are his favourite team to play against in Europe, followed by AC Milan and Celtic (eight goals each).