Football

‘I Was Annoyed with Him’ – Marc-Andre ter Stegen Says He and Barcelona Legend Lionel Messi Did Not Always See Eye to Eye

Author photo
By
Sushan Chakraborty
Author photo
Sushan Chakraborty Sports Editor

Sushan Chakraborty has been writing professionally since debuting with 90min in 2017. He has since typed out thousands of articles, learning the trade from some of the smartest minds in the business. Now at Sportscasting, he is striving to whip up his best articles yet.

Get to know Sushan Chakraborty better
Sports Editor

Published09 Apr 2025

Disclosure
We publish independently audited content meeting strict editorial standards. Ads on our site are served by Google AdSense and are not controlled or influenced by our editorial team.

Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen has itted he did not share the best relationship with eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi, revealing they used to annoy each other. 

Ter Stegen ed Barcelona from Borussia Monchengladbach in the summer of 2014. Before Messi left the Blaugrana for free in the summer of 2021, the pair shared the pitch 250 times in all competitions, winning one UEFA Champions League and four LaLiga titles, among other honours.

Marc-Andre ter Stegen Discusses Difficult Relationship with Barcelona Icon Lionel Messi

Arguably the greatest player in football history, Messi has done it all in his illustrious career. He has scored sensational goals and provided jaw-dropping assists, inspiring his club and country to the biggest trophies.

Ter-Stegen ired Messi’s character and presence during their time together at Nou Camp, but the goalkeeper did not always agree with him.

Speaking with German outlet BILD, Ter Stegen said (via GOAL):

“Leo is a special character at this level because he is motivated by a lot of things that we don’t see, I think. We’ve had moments where things didn’t work out between us because he was annoyed with me, and I was annoyed with him.”

Ter Stegen, however, clarified that although they were often annoyed at each other, they never argued.

He added:

“We never argued, as if to say we didn’t get along at all. But we had our moments, and that’s fine. 

“We were in the locker room together for a long time, and it was definitely interesting to have him in the team and see how he leads. Whether it’s my style or not, it was interesting to see.”

Ter Stegen concluded by adding:

“Leo is not a loudmouth; he works a lot with presence and needs to say relatively little, really. And when he says something, everyone listens. And that’s what you really want to achieve as a captain: to be listened to and followed.”

Messi played 778 games for the Blaugrana in all competitions. He scored 672 goals and provided 303 assists, emerging as the club’s all-time leading scorer and assist provider. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner won four UEFA Champions League trophies and 10 LaLiga titles, among other honours.