"He was David Silva on steroids" - Ex-Manchester City star details experience of playing against Lionel Messi

Former Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott recently recalled facing Lionel Messi during the Manchester City vs Barcelona game in the 2013/14 UEFA Champions League. The Englishman revealed that he was surprised by the Inter Miami superstar's strength and compared him to City legend David Silva.

Speaking on the Beast Mode On podcast, Lescott heaped praise on Messi, saying it felt that the Argentine saw the game in slow motion. He added that the Barcelona legend always knew his next step and said:

"He was David Silva on steroids. He must see the game so slow and so clear. There is this time when my confidence was high [and] I'm defending one vs one, I just know [what to do next]. He must see the game like that. He must see the whole, every picture of everyone. He just must be that. It just must be so clear."

Lescott said he was confident of overpowering Messi and even hit him during the game. He continued:

"I've come on. I'm thinking he's better than me at everything, [but] he's not stronger than me. 'I'm hitting him'. I hit him, I'm on his back, he went, my boof [indicating slight nudge], I'm like 'Oh'. He's literally holding me on his back. I think 'Jesus, you're strong as well?' You've got all this stuff. He's Thanos!"

Joleon Lescott faced Lionel Messi twice in his career, losing both matches. The two games came in the same season, and the Barcelona legend scored in both the fixtures.

Joleon Lescott claims Erling Haaland is in the same category as Lionel Messi

Joleon Lescott spoke to ESPN in 2022 and claimed that Manchester City striker Erling Haaland was on the same level as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. He added that the striker needed to maintain the level to end his career as the greatest striker in football history. He said:

"The toughest striker I came up against was Louis Saha and I played against Messi and Ronaldo. He's [Haaland] in that category. He's going to be a successful player throughout his career, but to say he's going to be the greatest ever, I think it's a little bit early and I don't think he would [want] that yet. I think if he continues to do what he's doing, he will definitely be in that conversation."

Erling Haaland spoke about Lionel Messi earlier this year when he was asked to pick a quality he would like of the Argentine. The Manchester City striker stated that he would like to add the Inter Miami captain's dribbling skills to his arsenal.