I realized it was because I sucked so bad

Former Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti has recalled a hilarious exchange he had with Lionel Messi during his time with the Spanish giants. The Frenchman was on the books of La Blaugrana from 2016 until 2023, having joined the club from Olympique Lyon.

Umtiti made his return to the Spotify Camp Nou with the DAZN team as a pundit for the Copa del Rey semi-final second leg against Atletico Madrid. He spoke about his time at the club, remembering a particularly funny story about his encounters with club legend Lionel Messi.

“My first goal at Barca was on a pass from Messi. I was so thrilled that I looked at him and said to myself: ‘Wow, I could tell my kids later on.’ I went to thank him, and he said to me: ‘It’s normal, no worries.’ Off the field, we played basketball, took shots, and bet money. He would say to me always: ‘Sam, do you want to play with me?’ I didn’t understand why at first, and later on I realized it was because I sucked so bad!'”, he said.

Samuel Umtiti and Messi enjoyed significant success at Barcelona, winning seven major honours in their time as teammates. The Frenchman outlasted his Argentine counterpart at the club, as Messi left for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) two years before Umtiti left the club.

Lionel Messi and Umtiti shared a pitch 124 times in their time at the Nou Camp, winning 91 games together. Messi only ever assisted the retired France international on one occasion, in a 5-0 win over Celta Vigo on March 2017.

Former Barcelona defender claims to have been better at free-kicks than Lionel Messi

Former Barcelona defender Jeremy Mathieu has jokingly claimed that he was a better free-kick taker than old teammate Lionel Messi. The Frenchman enjoyed a successful spell with the Catalan giants, having followed Luis Enrique to the club.

Mathieu recently opened up on his time at the club, stating with a grin on his face that he believes that he was better at taking free-kicks than Messi. This comes after Messi scored the 70th direct free-kick of his career for Inter Miami against Orlando City in the MLS.

“I think I was better at free kicks than Lionel Messi,” he said (via Barca Blaugranes).

Now 42 years old, Mathieu works at a store in Marseille after a knee injury forced him to retire from active football. He scored one memorable free-kick in his time at Barcelona, against Elche in the Copa del Rey in 2015.