Manchester United legend hails Messi: “Can’t put into words how good he is”

Lionel Messi won four UEFA Champions League trophies during his time at Barcelona. And two of those triumphs came at the expense of Manchester United in the finals.

Indeed, Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering brigade beat Sir Alex Ferguson’s Red Devils in two Champions League finals – first in the 2008/09 campaign in Rome before repeating the heroics in the 2010/11 season in London at Wembley.

And now, speaking in the documentary titled ‘Messi’, one of the stalwarts of that Manchester United team, Rio Ferdinand, has described how it was almost impossible for him and his side to stop the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner.

Talking about the 2008/09 final in Rome, which United lost 2-0, Ferdinand said that United had belief that they could win the match but Messi’s legendary headed goal in the second half killed any hopes that the Red Devils had of defeating Barcelona.

“In Rome 2009 we thought we could win maybe this match until Messi scored a header. In the Premier League and even in the Champions League, against some players, no disrespect, I’d gamble on their lack of ability to get the ball past me,” Ferdinand said (h/t BBC).

“And I’ve done that in the UCL final and the problem was the person on the ball was Xavi. You got to know the players you are dealing with and then he put it on the sixpence for Messi who scored an outrageous header.

“He hasn’t scored many of them, but this time he did it in the most important moment and that’s what separates the good from the great,” he said.

Ferdinand further added that Manchester United had played against Messi before and had managed to keep him locked down but the one they faced in Rome was a different player, who had the freedom in the final third, which made him unstoppable.

“We had played against him before and we had locked him down. But this was a different Messi,” said the Manchester United icon.

“This was a Messi who had more freedom to run around and be central whereas before he was usually stuck wide where you could pin him down a bit. Still great, but when he was allowed the freedom to move and pop up anywhere, he was unplayable. Ridiculous.”

Ferdinand then went on to insist that Messi was much better in the Wembley final two years later, when Barça beat Man United 3-1 in their own country to win the Champions League.

“He was actually better at Wembley. I remember standing on the pitch with Scholesy and watching him go and lift the trophy. They just took our soul and Messi was the main ingredient,” the former England international said.

“He is just a wonderful footballer, you can’t put into words how good he is. You try to break down situations and think you should have, would have, could have.”

“But when it is happening at the speed that it did and when you have a player like Messi who makes decisions quicker and more effective than anybody else, it is almost impossible. Prime-time Lionel Messi, unplayable,” he signed off.

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