‘He Was Sitting Depressed,' Liverpool Defender Reveals Awkward Encounter With Messi

Liverpool defender Joel Matip has revealed his awkward encounter with Lionel Messi after the Anfield side’s memorable 4-0 victory over FC Barcelona in the semifinal of the UEFA Champions League last season.

Barcelona, who have not won the European cup since 2015, had a lead of 3-0 coming into the Anfield leg. However, Jurgen Klopp’s side turned tables around as no one had before as they eliminated Barca from the tournament before The Reds won the trophy by defeating London club Spurs in the final in Madrid.

After the thrilling match in front of the pumped-up Reds fans, Messi and Matip were selected for the post-match doping tests.

When Liverpool man Matip reached the dressing room, he saw a guy sitting there “pretty depressed” and it was none other than Barca skipper Messi.

“After the game, we lined up arm-in-arm in front of the Kop together and sang ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ with the fans. That was one of the most beautiful moments of my career, maybe on the same level as my debut for Schalke in Munich.

I didn’t care about anything; I was floating on air after singing with the fans. And when I came into the doping test room, there was a guy sitting there pretty depressed – Lionel Messi,” Matip narrated in an interview with a German media house, 11Freunde.

“You know each other from the pitch, but it’s not like you sit around with them every day in a small room like you’re getting coffee. Everyone is celebrating, and I’m sitting in a cubicle with Messi,” Matip further added.

Klopp, who took charge of Liverpool in 2015, has now established himself as one of the best the club has ever had. Even after winning three major trophies – UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup – Liverpool players and Klopp are not always on the same page, according to Matip.

“Sometimes I’m the only one in the dressing room who understands his jokes straight away. I sit on the side and watch the others thinking about it. When the coach says things like ‘that was not the yellow from the egg,’ which means ‘that wasn’t exactly brilliant,’ only the assistant coach and I burst out laughing. Then I have to explain what the sentences mean to the others,” added Matip.

Liverpool are currently 25 points clear on the top of the Premier League table and Klopp’s boys are just two wins away from winning their first Premier League title in as many as 30 years.