Soccer: Lionel Messi Names Toughest Defender Faced

Lionel Messi has torn to pieces a multitude of defensive schemes thrown against him. He has seen and run riot of it all as he has become accustomed to the physicality of an opposing team on every match.

“There are ugly games and strange games. Games in which you always have a man close to you. It doesn’t happen to me much. But it doesn’t bother me either. Those are strange, different games,” Messi told DAZN as published by Goal. "Depending on how the game is going, we (Messi and his defender) will say something to each other."

But while the general no non-sense resistance hardly affected him, Messi still remembers the player who has served him the worthiest challenge defensively on the pitch – and it’s surprisingly not one of his constant leechlike defenders.

The Argentine great interestingly picked Girona’s Pablo Maffeo when asked who among his list of defensive opponents was the toughest he has ever faced.

“I don’t remember, truly. The one from Girona (Maffeo), maybe. That was exaggerated,” Messi said.

The 22-year-old right-back Maffeo is on his third loan agreement in Girona as he was dealt from Stuttgart after having previously joined Manchester City.

As to the physicality and the frequency of fouls that he has been receiving, the six-time Ballon d’Or winner had nothing to give but a shrug as he does not seem affected for as long as his defenders do not go overboard into intentional hitting.

"I never complained about it. I think that contact and kicks are part of football. It does bother me when the tackles have bad intentions. If that isn’t the case, then it’s part of the game and I don’t take it badly."