Lionel Messi explained why Liverpool are responsible for ‘one of the worst experiences’ of his career.

Throughout his football career, Lionel Messi has won everything, from the greatest team awards for club and nation to every single top individual honour. He is the best football player in history and has encountered every unfriendly environment and terrifying fan base that football has to offer.

What could have so affected the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner that he calls it ‘one of the worst experiences’ in his more than two-decade career? The Argentine sensation recalls his terrifying experience at a famous stadium in Britain.

He’s played at Celtic Park, Old Trafford, Anfield, the Emirates, Stamford Bridge and more historic sporting venues in the United Kingdom. But which left lasting effects on Messi, with the memory perhaps even still haunting him to this day?

Lionel Messi ‘Hit Hard’ by Visit to Iconic Stadium

‘It was one of the worst experiences in my career’

The 38-year-old suffered one of the most humiliating losses of his career in the 2018–19 Champions League semi-final against Liverpool, led by manager Jurgen Klopp. It seemed inevitable that Barcelona and Messi would advance to the final after they hammered the English powerhouses 3-0 at Camp Nou in the first leg.

Nevertheless, the Reds pulled off one of the greatest Champions League comebacks ever thanks to the amazing Anfield roar and the players’ unfathomable intensity. The home crowd went berserk after Divock Origi scored an early goal, raising the decibel even higher.

Second-half goals from Gini Wijnaldum (x2) and Origi saw Klopp’s men run out 4-0 winners as Messi and his Barca teammates exited the pitch as quickly as possible under a cloud. Speaking three full weeks after the harrowing night, the forward admitted:

Lionel Messi’s Plea to Barcelona Players at Anfield

He was the star of the show in the first leg

Messi did his best to rally the team at halftime of the Anfield collapse after giving the Spanish side a three-goal lead the week before. They still had a two-goal lead at halftime, and footage showed the legendary playmaker begging his teammates not to let it slip.

Gerard Pique, who also played that night, echoed Messi’s half-time sentiments. The Spaniard claimed the mental impact of a similar collapse against Roma in the same competition 12 months earlier played a part in the Liverpool defeat: “On a mental level some were affected by what happened in Rome.”

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