Marc-André ter Stegen has opened up on his tumultuous relationship with Lionel Messi at Barcelona.
The pair regularly faced rumours about fallouts during their time together where they won a Champions League and four LaLiga titles.
The German goalkeeper has now confirmed those rumblings in an interview ahead of his return from injury.
“Good or bad moments, we had them all,” he said on a BILD podcast.
“There was a time when things didn’t work out between us because he was upset with me and I was upset with him.”
Ter Stegen then incredibly revealed how Messi would punish him.
“I think Leo is probably the only player who, if he wants to shoot the ball in your face, he can do it,” Ter Stegen said.
The others would probably shoot anywhere, but he has the ability to hit the target,” said Ter Stegen.
“Leo is simply an impressive character on the pitch, and he plays with a lightness that will never be seen again, I’m 100% sure of that.
“He has the ability; if he wants to make you look bad, he does it with such ease, and with a pass or a shot that you’ll say afterwards: ‘That’s impossible!’ And I’ve experienced it many times.
“And that’s also why I’m glad I always had him with me in games and not on the other side.
“He works hard with presence and needs to say relatively little, to be honest. And when he says something, everyone listens. And that’s what you really want to achieve as captain: to be heard and followed.”
Leave a Reply