"God, this bloke's good" - Ex-Premier League defender speaks up on encounter with ‘special’ Lionel Messi

Former Watford defender and Nigeria international William Troost-Ekong has revealed what playing against Lionel Messi felt like. Ekong described the encounter as special and claimed that the Argentine icon was unplayable.

William Troost-Ekong has played for a plethora of clubs in his career, donning the jerseys of top-flight sides in eight different countries, including the Premier League. He spent three years in the English top-flight league playing for Watford.

Apart from playing in the EPL, the former Watford defender has faced a number of world-class forwards, including Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.

Ekong has only played against Messi once as the pair locked horns in the group stage of the 2018 World Cup when Nigeria lost 2-1 to Argentina. Lionel Messi opened the scoring for La Albiceleste against the Super Eagles, and his performance left a huge impression on the former Watford man.

Reflecting on Messi’s performance, Ekong told talkSPORT:

“One word, probably unplayable. It was something special. You find yourself standing there thinking: ‘God, this bloke's good!' I think when he scored the opening goal against us, it was like it was in slow motion. You couldn't really do anything, you just had to watch it. And close to cheering because it was fantastic. And then you remember you're on the other team.”

Ekong further explained what he thinks differentiated Lionel Messi from his eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo.

"It's a different quality. You can really see that he's [Messi] just reading the game. And when it comes to life, then there's not much you can do.”

When asked to choose the better between the Argentine icon and his Portuguese rival, Troost-Ekong refused to join the debate, pointing to his upcoming clash with the latter in the Saudi Pro League.

“This is difficult to say. I'll probably have to face Ronaldo again later this year. I don't want to get him mad.”

William Troost-Ekong currently plies his trade at Al Akhdoud. His side will face Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr on January 9.

When former Arsenal star said he never thought he would play against Lionel Messi

In 2018, former Arsenal player Alex Iwobi said he never thought he would face eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi. The 28-year-old made this statement a few years after he was promoted to Arsenal’s senior team.

Alex Iwobi, who is a product of Arsenal's Hale End Academy, made his senior debut for the north London club in October 2015. The following year, Arsenal and Barcelona locked horns in the Round of 16 of the 2015-16 UEFA Champions League.

Barcelona won the first leg at the Emirates Stadium 2-0 and bagged a 3-1 victory at the Camp Nou to progress to the quarter-finals 5-1 on aggregate. Iwobi, who was 19 at the time, was included in Arsenal’s starting lineup in the second leg.

Speaking to the club’s media some years after the match, he stated that he never believed he could have played against Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, and Neymar.

''By the end of the season, I’d scored two goals for Arsenal, two goals for Nigeria and had started a game against Barcelona at the Nou Camp. It was crazy to play against the best players in the world. It's a young man's dream, especially at the age of 19. I never thought I would be playing against the likes of Messi, Suarez and Neymar."

‘’When I think back to it, it still feels mad. At the time, I didn't know how to feel, I was just buzzing, I just wanted to go and prove to the world what I could do. We lost 3-1 in the end but when I came off the pitch, I remember thinking that I was going to go on loan at the start of the season and now here I was, playing against the world’s best at the Nou Camp.

Alex Iwobi also played against Lionel Messi in the 2018 World Cup as he was introduced as a substitute in the Super Eagles' 2-1 defeat to Argentina.