Lionel Messi, the true rival that Real Madrid will face: the superiority of the ’30’ against the meringues

The truly Champions League starts this Tuesday in Parc des Princes. PSG will receive Real Madrid for the first leg of the round of 16. A match that pits two of the favorites to win the tournament against each other, Leo Messi with his former archrival.

In reality, for those led by Carlo Ancelotti it is not only about facing a French team full of figures and that only two seasons ago reached the grand final (lost 1-0 against Bayern Munich); but also face Lionel Messi againthe player who has scored the most goals in the history of the Spanish classics.

The Argentine ’10’, who this season arrived at PSG, where he wears shirt number ’30’, was signed precisely to achieve the objective of this team that also bought Mbappé, Neymar Jr and other figures just to win the UEFA Champions League. Leo won 4 with Barcelona and now he wants to help PSG lift their first ‘Orejona’.

The last Messi vs. Real Madrid for Champions League

April 27, 2011. Semifinals of the UEFA Champions League. The fans of the Santiago Bernabéu are nervous. Barcelona dominates the match, they are closer to scoring the first goal and Messi is hungry. Minute 76. Ibrahim Affelay has the ball on the far right of the attacking culé. He is hand in hand with Marcelo and faces him. The Dutchman -whose time at Barza was not the best- gets rid of the Brazilian and takes the center. Messi, as if he were a ‘9’ in the area, anticipates Sergio Ramos and defines with his left foot. 1-0.

Minute 87. Lionel Messi drives the ball from midfield and start to get rid of rivals. He beats Lassana Diarra in speed, gets rid of Sergio Ramos and Raúl Albiol with a dribbling, enters the area, prevents Marcelo from taking it from behind and defines from the right against Iker Casillas. Spectacular goal from the Argentine.

Leo gave Barcelona the victory 2-0 in the first leg and the return leg was already a formality for the Catalans. They drew 1-1 at the Camp Nou and advanced to the final. In the defining match they beat Manchester United 3-1 with goals from Pedro, Messi and David Villa. It was the crack’s third title in this tournament, since the next and last came in the 2014-2015 season against Juventus in Turin. In summary, The last time Messi faced Real Madrid in the Champions League, he not only won the tie and scored goals, but was later crowned champion.

Messi’s supremacy against Madrid

This match will be special for Lionel Messi because he left Barcelona being the top scorer in the history of the classics of Spanish football. He scored 26 goals in 45 games, an average of 0.58 points per game. Those in second place have 18 goals and are Alfredo Di Stéfano and Cristiano Ronaldo. From there, the closest active player is Karim Benzema, but he only has 11 goals.

Thats not all. The Argentine star has a favorable record against the merengue team and is practically the ‘Black Beast’ of Madrid. It is the fifth team against which he has scored the most goals in his career and his record is favorable: 19 wins, 11 draws and 15 losses. A special documentary could be made of all these triumphs and the incredible plays that Leo left in each one of them.

If we focus only on the games that Lionel Messi has played at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, where the second leg will be played on March 9, the Argentine’s numbers are also remarkable. In 22 games, the albiceleste crack won 12, tied 3 and lost 7.

With this background, there is no doubt that Lionel Messi will be the main attraction of this Tuesday’s match at the Parc des Princes. The Argentine is also in the running to catch up with Cristiano Ronaldo in the Champions League top scorers list. The Portuguese adds 141 and the Argentine 125. But Leo has a better average than the current Manchester United striker.

The true Champions League begins and what better than with a duel between the best footballer of all time and the most successful team in the history of the tournament.