123 men who were no match for the little Argentine.
If you are a goalkeeper and you do manage to stop Lionel Messi scoring against you, then you should be fairly happy with yourself.
The Barcelona player has scored over 300 goals in La Liga, and 82 in the Champions League, and this morning a Spanish newspaper has produced a stunning graph that names every single goalkeeper who have seen their net billow as the best player in the world slots the ball past them.
Former Real Madrid netminder Iker Casillas tops the hall of fame shame, having conceded 17 goals in his tenure, while Diego Alves is just behind on 16.
Petr Cech, who had never conceded to Messi before Tuesday night, also sneaks on to the list after seeing two shots get past him midweek in Arsenal’s loss to the La Liga champions.
The goalkeepers who Lionel Messi has scored against, and how many goals for each. [Mundo Deportivo] pic.twitter.com/KKoaC92XWJ
— Sport Witness (@Sport_Witness) February 25, 2016
There’s no Gianluigi Buffon in there either, which is a hell of a testament to the Italian netminder considering his lengthy career.
It also may be noted that no Irish man makes the list, so we’re going to take that as a badge of honour.
It may also mean that no Irish goalkeeper is in the Champions League very much and never gets a chance to face the Barcelona man too, but less of your negative vibes please.
Internationally Messi failed to score in the 1-0 win that Argentina enjoyed over Ireland back in 2010 at the re-opening of Lansdowne Road, and was subbed off in that game after the hour mark having been held scoreless.
Which means Shay Given should be very proud not to have made a list that would include national ‘keepers.
