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Seven years ago today, Lionel Messi proved why he is considered an all-time great of the sport when he scored one of the most majestic goals in Champions League history for Barcelona against Bayern Munich.
The Blaugrana were gunning for a historic treble at the time under boss Luis Enrique. However, they found themselves trailing in the tie following a 3-2 defeat at the Allianz Arena to Pep Guardiola's side six days prior.
With the clash at the Camp Nou locked in a tense stalemate, Messi popped up to score a goal that would have taken Barca through on away goals before the moment of genius occurred in the 80th minute.
Ivan Rakitic played the ball to the superstar winger who was around 25 yards from goal on the right flank with Bayern centre-back Jerome Boateng for company. The Argentine superstar then skipped past the defender to sit Boateng down in comical fashion before calmly chipping Manuel Neuer to secure his team's place in the final.
The Catalonian giants went on to secure the treble by beating Juventus in the final in Berlin. The legendary forward scored an extraordinary 58 goals in 57 appearances throughout the campaign. Neither Barca nor Messi have won Europe's premier club competition since.
Boateng claims Messi goal didn't really affect him
Even among the extraordinary back catalog of goals scored by the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner, the strike is one of the most memorable and most iconic moments in Champions League history. It was also, arguably, the most embarrassing moment of Jerome Boateng's career.
The German international has won two Champions League titles and the 2014 World Cup among other honors. Many, though, will remember Boateng for that moment at the Camp Nou when Messi made a fool out of him.
However, speaking to ESPN in 2015, the former Manchester City defender claimed he wasn't really affected by the incident, stating:
"That doesn't really affect me. I was laughing at myself. When you fall down or slip in a situation and somebody scores a goal, it's normal. These things happen; it happens to me, it happens to other players, I don't care about these things."
"For me, he's the best player in the world. That's football. Sometimes you look bad or something happens. I'm a defender, that doesn't kill me or anything."
