"Simeone would simply tell us to pray, he was literally saying that" - Ex-Atletico star on playing against 'exceptional' Lionel Messi

Kieran Trippier has revealed that Diego Simeone used to tell his Atletico Madrid players to pray while playing against Lionel Messi. The Englishman claims that the coach had very little input on how to stop the Argentine superstar as it was hard to predict his moves.

Speaking to SetantaSportsTV, Trippier stated that Messi was exceptional to play against and even the top coaches had nothing to stop him on the pitch. Talking about the advice he got from Simeone while playing for Atletico Madrid against the current Inter Miami star, he said via AlbicelesteTalk:

"Messi is just absolutely exceptional. There have been times when, during planning to play against him, Simeone would simply tell us to pray, he was literally saying that. So, when Simeone says that, you realize you're facing a real problem."

Kieran Trippier has faced Lionel Messi five times in his career and won twice. All his wins came while playing for Atletico Madrid, while one of the two losses came while he was at Tottenham.

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Kieran Trippier once opened up on facing Lionel Messi

Kieran Trippier spoke to The Athletic in 2019 about Lionel Messi and claimed that it was hard to keep an eye on the Argentine. He revealed that the Inter Miami captain would be walking around but then end up scoring a goal out of thin air.

He said via GOAL:

"Everyone knows how good he is, but I think he turned up a few extra notches that night. He scored two and he must have hit the woodwork about four times. He was unbelievable. t's weird in a way. He spends a lot of the game just walking and walking. You play against (Liverpool's) Sadio Mane, for instance, and if you take your eye off him for a second, he'll just dart in behind you. But with Messi, you look four times and he's still there. It's weird. A lot of the time he just walks and walks — and then, before you know it, it's a goal."

"I've played against him a few times now and he's so good at just picking up those little pockets of space. Before Barcelona have made three passes, he already knows where the ball's going. It's amazing how clever he is. Even when he's walking like that, you've always got to be aware. He's unbelievable, the best ever. But it's not just Messi. There are the players around him. You can go through the whole Barcelona team… Arthur is an unbelievable player."

Kieran Trippier is now back in the Premier League and plays for Newcastle United. Lionel Messi has left European football and plays for Inter Miami in MLS.