Messi ‘took the piss’ against Man Utd, recalls Berbatov
Dimitar Berbatov has revealed how Lionel Messi would ‘make fun of’ Manchester United whenever Barcelona played against the Red Devils.
United fans have some painful memories of facing Messi and Barcelona and Berbatov was part of the team who were blown away by Argentina in the 2011 Champions League final.
Berbatov was in fact dropped from the matchday squad for that game and United would lose 3-1, with Messi picking up the man of the match in a dazzling performance.
Messi has not lost a game to United since 2008 and Berbatov recalled how Barcelona’s talisman would humiliate his side without even meaning to. ‘Messi, I always remember because we played against him with the team, we lost, he score, he make fun of us the way he plays football,’ Berbatov told Betfair.
‘He was playing it with so much ease, whilst some players will puff and fight with the ball, trying to [think] what to do with it, he already knows before the ball comes.
‘The movement of his body you can see how easy, calculated, he knows exactly what to do and it’s a joy to watch him play and the goals, what can you say about the goals, it’s unbelievable. Messi destroyed United in the 2011 Champions League final
‘The way he sees football, the way he moves around the pitch, how he knows how to save his strength, and then bam in the right moment.
‘He can walk in the middle of the pitch, and he’s cunning to see where his team-mates are, calculated his move, and them bam, in the right moment he’s on the penalty box, Jordi Alba gives him the ball back, bam, goal.
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‘Not only then [CL final] I remember we play a friendly game United vs Barcelona, and he played the first half and he was just taking the piss, enjoying, no stress, no nerves, just relaxed and everything was happening with him because that’s how he sees football.
’ While Berbatov retired in 2018, Messi turns 33 this summer and is in talks to extend his stay with Barcelona.