Lionel Messi
Former Barcelona star Lionel Messi
Fraser Forster is set for an extended run in goal for Tottenham after first-choice stopper Guglielmo Vicario suffered a serious injury and the 36-year-old has previously had the backing of Lionel Messi.
Vicario broke his ankle during Tottenham's stunning 4-0 victory over Manchester City on Saturday and is facing several months on the sidelines. Forster is set to deputise for Vicario in the meantime and manager Ange Postecoglou is confident he is "ready to play".
Forster has made just 24 appearances for Spurs since joining the club on a free transfer in 2022, but he previously starred at Celtic and Southampton. During his time at Celtic, Forster faced Barcelona twice in the 2012 Champions League and memorably helped his side pick up a 2-1 win over the La Liga giants at Celtic Park.
Forster made 13 saves during the match and Messi was later branded his heroics the "best goalkeeping performance I have seen". Speaking about the game, Messi said: "The performances of Fraser Forster against us were talked about for a long time.
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"There was one game in Scotland where he was not human, it is the best goalkeeping performance I have seen. When Victor Valdes said he was leaving, we even talked about him playing here. I was sure that he would end up at Arsenal, Chelsea or Manchester United. "
When asked about Messi's comments last year, Forster told Spursplay: "It's impossible to put into words. We'd played them away, I think, two weeks earlier and we lost 2-1 in the last minute and I'd made saves, but the performance we'd put in away from home really carried us into the home one because we knew we'd have the fans with us.
"But yeah, it was just one of those nights where everything, you know. You make a couple of saves early and you're like, come on, bring it on. That team as well, if you don't enjoy playing those games, do you know what I mean?
Messi hailed Fraser Forster's performance against Barcelona back in 2012
"But the noise that night as well – obviously we ended up going 2-0 up and they scored right at the end but it was just, kind of, unbelievable. It was just one of those days when you're in the zone and everything goes your way. You're seeing the ball like it's a gym ball and it's just amazing.
"I think that after that night I didn't sleep after the game, it was just amazing. I'm obviously fortunate to have played in those types of games and like I said before, half of my memories in that game are the atmosphere and the fans and lots of it is that rather than that save or this save. It was just – the occasion.
"It's always nice when it's someone in the game as well, it carries a lot more weight. But like I say, as well, that period put me in the England squad and it was an amazing time that I'll remember forever."
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