“Thank god he was injured” - When Paolo Maldini made honest admission about never playing against Lionel Messi 

Legendary former defender Paolo Maldini lauded Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi despite never facing the forward in his career.

Maldini is widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders of all time. He made over 900 appearances for AC Milan, winning seven Serie A titles, and three UEFA Champions League trophies, among other honors.

Meanwhile, in a documentary named 'The Phenomenon' based on Ronaldo Nazario, Maldini hailed the Brazilian as one of the three best players he's ever seen. Along with Ronaldo, the Italian also picked Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi, saying (via Sport Bible):

“First of all, I have had the chance to play against great, great players and I think the best ones were, of course, [Diego] Maradona when he played for Napoli and Ronaldo when he played for Inter.

"I didn’t play against Messi because he was injured, thank God he was injured."

When said by a reporter that perhaps even Messi was lucky to have never faced Maldini, the former defender replied:

"No, no, I was lucky."

While Lionel Messi has played eight times against AC Milan with Barcelona, he only did so after Paolo Maldini's retirement in 2009. The Argentine has lost just one of his eight encounters against the Italian giants, winning four times.

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When Lionel Messi revealed he was close to joining Saudi Pro League

Lionel Messi left Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) upon the expiration of his contract in the summer of last year. He reportedly had an offer to move to Saudi Arabia, where his arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo also plied his trade with Al-Nassr. However, Messi chose to join Major League Soccer (MLS) side Inter Miami instead.

The Argentine was awarded the TIME Magazine Athlete of the Year award in December. During an interview with the magazine, he revealed that he did think extensively about moving to the Saudi Pro League, saying (via Eurosport):

"I was thinking a lot about going to the Saudi league. I know the country and they have created a very powerful competition that can become an important league in the near future.

“As the country’s tourism ambassador, it was a destination that attracted me, especially because I’ve enjoyed everything I have visited, because of how football is growing in the country and because of the effort they are putting into creating a top competition. It was Saudi Arabia or MLS, and both options seemed very interesting to me."

Lionel Messi started well with Inter Miami, helping them win the Leagues Cup and reach the US Open Cup final. But he couldn't help them qualify for the MLS playoffs. The 36-year-old has contributed 11 goals and five assists in 14 games across competitions for the Herons.