Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has said Lionel Messi is something else to what people see him on television in terms of being super fast and possessing unbelievable skills.
Henderson was speaking about FC Barcelona's Champions League semifinal 3-0 first-leg win against Liverpool last year.
Messi's late brace in that game had taken him to 600 Barcelona goals. The Argentine superstar had scored a sublime free-kick too which left Henderson speechless, he said.
"As it turned out, I came on quite early as Naby Keita got injured. It was the first time I had been on a pitch with Lionel Messi," Henderson told the Daily Mail.
"You don't think to yourself 'Oh my God - that's him,' but there's no question he plays the game differently to when you see him on TV. He's so fast.
"Thinking about his free-kick now, I still can't believe he scored it. I actually thought he was going to take it short.
"I've told you how good I think Alisson is, but Messi put that shot in the one area Ali couldn't protect. The whip, the pace, the precision - it was absolutely perfect."
Henderson also said he never asked to swap shirts with Messi after being warned against it by Roy Keane.
In the second leg of the semi-final, Liverpool completed an incredible 4-3 aggregate comeback.
"Did I think about asking for his shirt? No. I've never done it.
"Roy Keane told me when I was at Sunderland that if you ask for someone's shirt, it looks like you are in awe of them."
Henderson added he took home Luis Suarez's shirt: "As it turned out, I came home with Luis Suarez's shirt.
"Luis is a good lad and he gave me it as a gesture as we had played together for Liverpool. I don't know what he's done with mine!"
