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Lionel Messi became the first footballer to score against 40 different teams in the Champions League when he netted in Paris Saint-Germain's (PSG) 1-1 draw against Benfica on October 5.
The goal at the Estadio da Luz was the 127th of his career in the competition in 159 games. The Argentine has played against 44 different teams in UEFA's premier competition and scored against 40 of them.
However, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan, Rubin Kazan, and Udinese have kept Messi at bay whenever he comes up against them (h/t Transfermarkt) in the competition. Los Colchoneros have conceded 32 times to Messi in 39 domestic games but have kept him at bay in four Champions League encounters against him.
I Nerazzurri have matched Atletico's record with regards to keeping the Argentina icon off the scoresheet on four separate occasions. Three of those games came in the 2009-10 season, where Lionel Messi failed to score or assist in both legs of his team's 3-1 aggregate loss in the semi-finals. He also failed to make a goal contribution against Inter in one of the fixtures in the group stage.
Inter went on to win the trophy that season under manager Jose Mourinho.
Rubin Kazan's name is perhaps the most surprising inclusion on the list.
The Russian team, led by manager Rinat Bilyaletdinov, were drawn in the same group as Barca in the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons. They took four points off Barcelona in the first instance, including an iconic 2-1 win at Camp Nou.
Kazan managed a draw in the next campaign but lost at Camp Nou via a 2-0 margin. Messi did not score or assist in any of those matches.
The last team on the list, Udinese, faced the mesmeric Argentine just once - in the group stages of the 2005-06 season. Lionel Messi played 70 minutes but failed to make a tangible impact in their 4-1 win against the Italian side on September 28, 2005. He was an unused substitute in the reverse fixture.
In total, Lionel Messi has played a total of 13 games against these four teams - all for Barcelona.
PSG star Lionel Messi's favorite UEFA Champions League opponents
The distinction of conceding the most goals to Messi in the UEFA Champions League rests with Arsenal. He has scored nine goals and assisted a further two in just six games against them.
Messi has played against AC Milan on a similar number of occasions, managing eight goals and one assist against them. He boasts eight goals and three assists against Celtic in eight matches as well.
The Glasgow-based giants are also one of fourteen teams that have not let Cristiano Ronaldo score past them, doing so in three matches.
