Simeone said Lionel Messi can only be stopped by ‘prayer’

Newcastle and England defender, Kieran Trippier has recalled Atletico Madrid’s coach Diego Simeone’s advice when it came to stopping Argentinian football star, Lionel Messi.

Recounting how hard it was coming up against the South American football legend in La Liga while still signed to Atletico Madrid, Trippier said the only advice Simeone offered on stopping Messi was by “prayer”.

Sharing his experience in La Liga during an interview with Goal, the defender said;

“You can’t to be fair. It’s funny because obviously Simeone was the manager [and] they are both Argentinian. Even he would say before the meetings, just basically ‘pray.’ You just can’t do anything. You can’t organise or set up to stop him because he’s that unique.”

Trippier, who was part of the Atletico side that lifted the 2020-21 La Liga title, also disclosed that he learned an incredible amount from playing in a new country and a new league.

He added;

“Hopefully many more English players do it because I learned so much experience playing out there with Simeone. I learned a lot about myself as well. Go out and enjoy the game, go and enjoy the life out in Spain, the food, the weather. It was an incredible couple of years.”