“I played against Lionel Messi for Man Utd – he did one thing that left me in big trouble”

Former Manchester United player Wes Brown has revealed that when facing Lionel Messi, you should never let him run towards you with the ball. Brown, who faced Messi in the 2008 Champions League semi-finals, admitted that it was difficult to stop the then-prodigy once he started running towards you.

Speaking on Reach's Euro Thrash podcast – which you can find on YouTube, Apple and Spotify – Brown said: “Once he picks up the ball and starts running, you're in trouble. Somehow you've got to stop that.

“You can do that just by being close to him, so he has to pass the ball to you, but you definitely don’t want him to receive it, turn around and come at you full speed. He’s very difficult to counter. Plus, he’ll take you out of position to make room for other people.”

Brown previously shared the only tactical instruction Sir Alex Ferguson gave him in the 2021 book 'Manchester United: Unscripted'. The former England international revealed: “I remember those words going round and round in my head before we played Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final. I had learned them from the manager.

“Most often, my job was to keep an eye on Lionel Messi, and the instructions were simple. ‘Don’t. Dive.’ That was the message every time.

“Messi was only 20 at the time, but he was already one of the best players in the world. Everyone knew him. He and Ronaldo were still young, but they had both just finished in the top three of the Ballon d'Or. Of course, we trained every day with Ronny, but it was the first time we faced Messi and it was something that excited us.”

Brown also admitted he wouldn't have been against swapping a young Cristiano Ronaldo for Messi in their prime, adding: “I'm not sure you can say you wouldn't, but I don't know. United is where he came into his own as a player, but Messi would have been a great fit in that team as well.”

“I don't like the way everyone talks about him saying: your Messi is better than your Ronaldo and Ronaldo is rubbish, it's completely false. They are the two best in the world, it's as simple as that.”

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