Andy Robertson has detailed what it is really like to face Lionel Messi in full flow, and says he regrets last year's incident with the Argentinean which subsequently went viral.
Messi scored twice as Barcelona beat Robertson's Liverpool 3-0 in the first leg of last season's Champions League semi-final, only for the Reds to spectacularly turn things around in the second encounter.
Messi's first-leg display had looked to have eliminated the Reds at the halfway stage of the tie, and Robertson was left in awe of the Argentinean.
"In the Nou Camp I thought I'd dealt with him as well as I could have, but he walks off with two goals, it's 3-0, and all everyone's talking about is Messi!" the Scot told the new episode of That Peter Crouch Podcast.
"When you test yourself against the best you want to try and come out well, and he is the best player that's ever played in my opinion. Being directly up against him was as tough as it is.
"When you come up against him you always think 'it's ok, we're professional footballers, we can [handle this].'
"But I think he knocked it by two of our midfielders early on in the Nou Camp, and he was running directly at me and I was like 'oh right, this guy's serious, f***ing hell! He's coming at me now!
"The stuff he does with his feet are just frightening, you need to guess at times to defend against him.
"I remember he was at the byline at one point, and I thought 'he's just playing for a throw-in here, no problem...'
"But he's like dinked it inside somehow, and off he went inside of the park, switched the play, and I was like... no other human can do that!"
Back at Anfield, cameras caught Robertson placing his hand on Messi's head in the opening stages of the second leg, which the Reds would go on to win 4-0 as they eventually secured Champions League glory.
Many Liverpool fans felt the gesture set the tone for the evening, but the Scot says he regrets the incident now.
"Me and Fabinho were both tracking him back, and we both ended up on the ground, and... yeah I just ruffled his hair a wee bit," he said.
"He wasn't too happy, but it's something I wouldn't do again that's for sure!
"It's a bit disrespectful to the best player that's ever played this game.
"He was on the ground and I was on the ground, and I do regret it. But it's something that everyone relates to me now, which isn't the best!"
