"I even tried hitting him to bring him down" – Alessandro Del Piero shares experience of playing against Lionel Messi

Former Italy and Juventus forward Alessandro Del Piero has opened up about his experience facing Argentina and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) star Lionel Messi.

Messi, widely considered one of the best players of all time, rose through the ranks of Barcelona after joining the La Liga club's youth academy from Newell's Old Boys in 2000. Owing to his rapid growth as a player, he made his professional debut in 2004 at the age of 17, and the rest is history.

Speaking to ESPN FC, Del Piero reminisced about the time he locked horns with the-then teenage sensation in a pre-season friendly between Juventus and Barcelona in 2005.

Del Piero said:

"I remember pretty well at that time because many people were already talking about Lionel, so it was the first and only time I had the opportunity to play against him, and it was funny."

The 2006 FIFA World Cup winner continued:

"At full time, he was doing so well, I was speaking with my teammates about this guy, he was unbelievable. I even tried hitting him to bring him down, but I couldn't do it. It was something very beautiful to see even in that early age."

During his illustrious career, Messi has scored 769 goals and contributed 331 assists in 974 appearances for Argentina, Barcelona and PSG combined. He has also won the Ballon d'Or award a record seven times.

The 35-year-old joined PSG on a free transfer last summer following his surprise exit from Barcelona. During the 2021-22 campaign, he won the Ligue 1 title and scored 11 goals in 34 matches across all competitions.

Alessandro Del Piero believes Lionel Messi's Argentina are favourites to win 2022 FIFA World Cup

Earlier in June, Alessandro Del Piero claimed that Argentina have a good chance of winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar later this year.

Speaking to ESPN FC, the Juventus legend shared his thoughts about the probable winners of the upcoming quadrennial event.

He said:

"The Euro 2020 proved that when a team comes together they can do amazing things. And of course, there's a kind of emotional way to see the last World Cup for Messi. The same thing can happen for [Cristiano] Ronaldo. They basically have two very similar teams."

He added:

"It's good that we are going to the last World Cup for these amazing players with a good team that actually can win the tournament because it's one month. Everything has to be perfect for one month. But you need to start that tournament on the right foot. And I believe both teams have the right foot to start."

While Portugal will lock horns with Uruguay, Ghana, and South Korea in Group H, Argentina will face Poland, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia in Group C of the tournament. The competition is set to kick off on November 21, with the final scheduled for December 18.