West Ham United star Tomáš Souček has revealed how he was snubbed by Lionel Messi when he played for Barcelona.
[IDNES cover comments from the West Ham midfielder today.](https://www.idnes.cz/fotbal/reprezentace/a-ten-dres-prosim-soucek-v-knize-vzpomina-jak-ho-messi-okouzlil-i-zklamal.A251111_150117_fot_reprez_mama) They’re an excerpt from his book, which he’s released this month. The latest includes a surprising, and disappointing experience with Messi.
Souček came up against the Argentine icon all the way back in 2019 with Slavia Prague. They met Barcelona twice in the Champions League that year.
The first of those was a 2-1 win over for the Catalans away from home. Slavia then secured a famous 0-0 draw with Barcelona at the Camp Nou in the second of the two games.
It was a huge moment for Slavia and Souček, who would move to West Ham the following January. He initially joined the Hammers on loan in the January transfer window before the move was made permanent in the summer.
Performance likely convinced West Ham
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His performances against Barcelona perhaps convinced West Ham into the move in the first place. Sadly, for Souček all he has is memories, as he was denied a great momentum by Messi despite a promise.
_“In Barcelona, we faced the best player in the world. For me, a football god and a guy from another galaxy. The master Lionel Messi,”_ he said.
_“I was nervous about it for a few days in advance and couldn’t wait, but he disappointed me in Barcelona. We didn’t organise a hunt for him like the guys from Pilsen used to, who were already racing to win his jersey._
_“When the game was over, I just quietly approached him and politely asked in English: “Can we exchange, please?” Mr. Messi nodded and gestured: “Si, si, wait for me at the cabins.”_
_“I was tapping by the Barcelona locker room, and when superman Leo walked to the door after a few minutes, I was hunting for English words: “Thanks again for the match. Can I have the jersey please?”_
_“I probably didn’t deserve an answer, because he just waved his hand angrily, didn’t even look me in the eye, and before I could turn around to follow him, he had disappeared through the door in a sour mood.”_