Phil Jones in the Louvre?!
Europe’s top competition really comes into its own in the knockout stages – there’s fun to be had, records to be broken, curses to banish and old scores to settle. Oh, and there’s a bloomin’ great big trophy to win at the end of it, too...
Our UEFA Champions League last 16 guide has you covered
The last time Lionel Messi didn’t feature in the top three for the Ballon d’or, Tony Blair and George W Bush were still in power and Kylian Mbappe was at primary school. However, last December the Flea was painfully pushed off the podium – his first absence since 2006.
Messi hasn’t become a bad player since turning 30 in June 2017: his 34 goals in 36 La Liga games helped Barcelona steamroll to yet another league title in 2018. But in an international tournament year, domestic dominance isn’t always enough to win the golden ball. And with Argentina leaving the World Cup at the first knockout stage he was duly elbowed aside by finalists Luka Modric and Antoine Griezmann, as well as Cristiano Ronaldo after the Portuguese’s third Champions League triumph in as many seasons.
While he considers whether or not to take one last shot at international glory at this summer’s Copa America, Messi can pitch for a record sixth Ballon d’or – edging ahead of his Madeiran mate – by dragging Barça back to the sort of European summit that doesn’t involve Angela Merkel.
Leading Barcelona to glory wouldn’t be entirely altruistic. On the last three occasions they’ve been kings of Europe (2009, 2011 and 2015), guess who grabbed the subsequent Ballon d’or?
By those standards, both club and player have gone through lean times. Messi has bagged only one Ballon d’or in the past six years; Barça have conquered Europe just once in their seven most recent attempts. By correlation or causation, their struggles have gone hand-in-hand.
After crushing Bayer Leverkusen with a five-goal spree in March 2012, Messi has notched 14 goals in 32 knockout games – hardly humiliating, but far below his usual rate. On the road, he’s scored five – four of them in England – in 17 knockout trips.
And over the same period Barça have shared his travel travails, not troubling the scorers in knockout legs at Milan (twice), Atletico Madrid (twice), PSG, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Juventus and last season Roma, when Messi was anonymous and the hosts incredibly overturned a 4-1 first-leg deficit.
It would be a major surprise if the Catalans can’t overcome a Lyon side who have spent seven years failing to reach the knockout stages, but tougher tests await if Barça and their captain are to regain their places at the top of Europe’s table.