Lionel Messi admitted Barcelona players hated Chelsea more than Real Madrid
Lionel Messi once admitted that he and his Barcelona team-mates despised Chelsea more than arch-rivals Real Madrid.
The Blues might look the furthest thing from a European juggernaut right now, but in the mid-to-late 2000s they were a near-constant figure in the latter stages of the Champions League. That same could be said of Barcelona, who played Chelsea a whopping eight times in five years over that period.
Their clashes, while entertaining, were generally bad-tempered affairs littered with controversy. And speaking ahead of a crunch last-16 encounter in 2006, an 18-year-old Messi explained just how deep Barcelona’s hatred for their west London rivals was at the time.
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“There are [Barcelona] players here who hate Chelsea more than Real Madrid,” he told the News of the World. “I never thought I would hear myself say that.
“I also never thought I would see something worse than the Boca and River Plate rivalry or Brazil v Argentina – but this is. We would rather play Arsenal, Manchester United or anyone else than be on the pitch with Chelsea.”
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To put his comments into context, Chelsea had knocked Barcelona out of the Champions League at the same stage 12 months earlier courtesy of a remarkable second leg comeback at Stamford Bridge (featuring that Ronaldinho goal). In the first leg, Jose Mourinho accused referee Anders Frisk of conspiring with Barcelona boss Frank Rijkaard after Didier Drogba was controversially sent off, and a war of words had existed between the two clubs ever since.
Ahead of their 2006 tie, Chelsea purposefully allowed the pitch at Stamford Bridge to deteriorate in an effort to stifle Barcelona’s free-flowing football, but it backfired as Rijkaard’s men ran out 2-1 winners. During the match, the Blues picked up another controversial red card, this time after Asier del Horno’s challenge on Messi.
Barca held their nerve in the return leg, and went on to win the competition for just the second time that year, though now Inter Miami star Messi was forced to watch from the sidelines after tearing his hamstring against Chelsea.
His hatred for the London club might have manifested itself into something of a performance-inhibitor. Despite subsequently growing into the world’s most unstoppable player, Messi seemed to struggle whenever lining up against Chelsea. He went eight matches (and 29 shots) without scoring against them before finally breaking his duck in 2018.
