For many, Lionel Messi will go down as the greatest footballer of all time. Even his biggest critics would be foolish to try and claim he will not be regarded among the very finest to play the sport.
With Barcelona, he delivered everything any football fan could ever want or demand, with goals, assists, dribbles, passes, free kicks, and more than enough trophies too. For Argentina, he reached the pinnacle of the sport too, lifting the World Cup in 2022.
Throughout his entire Barca career, he was pretty much unstoppable. As a result, he won 10 La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues. However, in 2012, he came up against an English footballer who left a big impression.
Messi Was Blown Away by English Goalkeeper
"The performance of Fraser Forster against us was talked about for a long time"
The match actually happened in Scotland, as Barcelona travelled to Parkhead as they took on Celtic in the 2012/13 Champions League group stage.
The Catalan giants dominated with 89 per cent possession and had 23 attempts on goal but English goalkeeper Fraser Forster put in a superhuman display, making13 saves to keep Messi and co at bay.
Celtic somehow won the game 2-1, only conceding in the dying embers of the game. An astonished Messi would later recall (via TalkSport:
"The performance of Fraser Forster against us was talked about for a long time. There was one game in Scotland when he was not human, it was the best goalkeeping performance I have seen.
He then went on to extraordinarily reveal that he and his teammates were even keen to replace legendary Barca goalkeeper Victor Valdes with Forster. He explained:
"When Victor Valdes said that he was leaving Barcelona we even talked about him playing here."
Valdes won six La Ligas, three Champions Leagues, two Club World Cups a and two Copa del Reys during his time at Barca, making him among their greatest-ever goalkeepers. The idea that Forster, who has just six caps for England and currently warms the bench for Tottenham Hotspur (although he will leave once his contract expires in June 2025), would replace him is quite a surprise.
The game clearly left a big impression on Messi, who would later claim Celtic's home ground had "the best atmosphere in Europe", having played there three times across his career.
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Forster Recalled The Game vs Celtic
"I didn’t sleep after the game, it was just amazing"
Messi and Fraser Forster
Foster has since spoken about the match, too. On Messi's praise, he said: “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? 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.”
The performance may not have quite got Forster a Barcelona move, but it did help him get an international call-up. He added: “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.”
Stats via Transfermarkt