Lionel Messi once expressed the reason why he “deeply regretted” missing a match against Arsenal in the Champions League.

During his illustrious career, Lionel Messi has been involved in some of the most memorable games in football history. In fact, no player in the game has won more trophies than Messi, with a staggering collection that includes 10 La Liga titles, four Champions Leagues, two Ligue 1 titles, a Copa America and a World Cup, not to mention the smaller trophies.

However, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner admitted that he deeply regretted missing Barcelona’s 2006 Champions League final against Arsenal in Paris. Although the Catalans came from behind to beat Arsenal 2-1, Messi, then just 18, was unable to play in the match due to a hamstring injury.

Messi was so young and disappointed at the time that he refused to join in the post-final celebrations. In an interview with Spanish newspaper AS in 2021, El Pulga shared: “I regret not going out. I didn’t understand what was happening. I would have liked to have been on the bench that night. Before I got injured against Chelsea in the round of 16, I had played in every Champions League game of my career. I was really disappointed. I regret that incident. Barca won the Champions League that year and I’m not sure that will happen again because it’s a very difficult tournament to win.”

Of course, Messi has since featured in three more Champions League finals, scoring in Barcelona’s victories in 2009 and 2011.

It’s no surprise that Messi considers his header against Manchester United in 2009 to be one of his favourite goals of his career. Speaking to FourFourTwo magazine in 2017, Messi said: “It was hard to imagine that I would have the chance to score with my head with a defender like Rio Ferdinand nearby, but I realised that I was unmarked and the ball was stable enough for me to finish.”

“When the ball from Xavi’s pass went into the box, I could already imagine myself scoring and thank God it came true. It was a very important goal in every way: for the team, for the way the final was played and for me. It is one of my favourite goals.”