I was Lionel Messi's toughest opponent but never made it at Man City - I've got no regrets about leaving

Lionel Messi has made a career leaving defenders for dead, skipping past them like they are not there and leaving countless opponents scratching their heads over how to stop him.

What makes him so brilliant is his ability to be unstoppable every week over 20 years. Messi probably doesn't remember which full-back is tasked with facing him on a weekly basis because they spend most of the game chasing him.

So it takes a special performance to stick out in Messi's head as the toughest opponent he has faced - even more so when you are not a recognised name in international football.

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Back in 2020, Messi was asked to pick his toughest opponent, and declined to name a Real Madrid rival, or perhaps a German or Brazilian defender from the international scene. "Pablo Maffeo of Girona," he said instead. "That was intense!"

In seven words, Messi probably gave Maffeo more media exposure than ever before, despite playing for Manchester City, Girona and Stuttgart by that point in his career. Maffeo was on loan at Girona from City when he came up against Messi in 2017, and recalled his on-pitch conversations with the Argentine, who had clearly done his homework before the match on the defender.

“When you mark Messi, you have to think that he is a normal person, he has two legs like all of us, and to be focused,” Maffeo said after the match. “Messi told me: ‘I’ve got you here for the whole day’ and I said: ’You’re the best in the world, I’m not going to leave you.’

“He asked me how old I was, if I had been assigned by Manchester City and what it was like there. He said the marking was not pleasant. Messi and I were together the whole match. He has asked me a couple of things. He is a good person.”

However, Maffeo later reflected on the game and made clear that Messi proved the victor in their battle. For one thing, Barcelona won the game 3-0, although Messi was kept off the scoresheet.

"It took him about two seconds to work out what was happening," Maffeo told the Daily Mail. "I had never man-marked anyone before in my life. It’s mentally demanding more than anything else. I knew if I lost him, even for a moment, then he would be able to do whatever he wanted to."

His spell in Girona clearly impressed more than just Messi, with an exit from City agreed the following year. Maffeo joined Stuttgart for £8.8m, picking the German side over interest from Premier League clubs and offers from La Liga.

He had arrived at City from the Espanyol academy in 2012 as a 15-year-old, progressing through the ranks to make his competitive debut in 2016 - in Pep Guardiola's second home game, a Champions League qualifier against Steaua Bucharest. Of his three senior appearances, one came in the 2016 EFL Cup derby away to Manchester United.

Shortly afterwards Maffeo joined Girona on loan for a second spell and would stay there for 18 months until leaving City permanently. Reflecting on his spell at the Eithad, he has remained philosophical and does not regret moving to Manchester as a teenager even if he didn't make the grade.

"I have never regretted going to City so young," Maffeo said in 2022. "I spent nine years at Espanyol. All decisions are to get something. Just like I never regretted going to Stuttgart.

"In Manchester, I was very good, but it is true that I left very young and I had a very bad time at the beginning. Going there made me become a footballer.

"I was lucky enough to debut and be with [Pep] Guardiola. Leaving City is not the same as leaving a lower team, with all due respect. Leaving there you have more status."

Now 27, Maffeo signed permanently for Mallorca after a loan spell. Messi has long left La Liga, but Maffeo will always be associated with the greatest player of all time thanks to that evening in 2017.