ritish media ‘Sports Bible’ reported on the 30th (Korea time) that “Lionel Messi once admitted that Barcelona players hate Premier League clubs more than their fierce rivals Real Madrid, which he never thought would make him say this.”
Messi was 18 when he decided to make the remark public in an interview with the News of the World in 2005. At the time, Barcelona and Chelsea faced a bitter confrontation after a dramatic come-from-behind victory in the Champions League round of 16 at Stampford Bridge.
A week ago, Mourinho made the remark in which he shot down referee Frisk after Didier Drogba was sent off after being controversially in the first leg. The clash between the two teams was bigger than expected. In fact, teenage Messi mentioned Chelsea ahead of the 2006 round of 16.
“There are Barcelona players who hate Chelsea more than Real Madrid. I never expected to hear that,” Messi said. “I also never imagined that we would see a match worse than the Boca or River Plate rivalry game or Brazil vs. Argentina. It is better to play Arsenal, Manchester United or any other team than Chelsea.”
Barcelona, which had the first-round advantage thanks to an own goal by John Terry and an additional goal by Samuel Eto’tu in the second half, defeated Mourinho’s Chelsea FC with a 1-1 draw at the Camp Nou. In the same year, Juliano Belletti scored the winning goal in the final against Arsenal and won the Champions League title.
Messi later wore his Barcelona uniform and cited the Champions League loss to Chelsea in 2012 as the most regrettable thing. He revealed in 2021, when he decided to leave Barcelona, “I wish I had won the Champions League again.” 토토사이트 추천
Messi added, “We were defeated by Liverpool in the semi-final and failed to advance to the final. We also reached the semi-final with Guardiola and faced Chelsea, but Chelsea blocked them from advancing to the final, I think we could have had another chance to win the Champions League if we had caught Chelsea.”