Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg has opened up on what officiating Lionel Messi was like.
Messi is now starring at Inter Miami in the MLS but prior to moving to America, he had an illustrious career in Europe with FC Barcelona and then PSG.
It was during that period that Clattenburg got the chance to referee three games in which the South American was involved.
Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty ImagesMark Clattenburg says Lionel Messi was ‘very respectful’The ex-Premier League official first took charge of a game involving Messi in April 2015 when Barcelona faced PSG in the Champions League.
He then refereed Barca vs Bayern Munich a month later before once again being the man in the middle when the Spanish giants clashed with Bayer Leverkusen in December 2015.
Now, Clattenburg has spoken exclusively to HITC to give an insight into what working with Messi was like.
He began by praising the 39-year-old for his performance at the 2026 World Cup.
The now-retired referee said: “I think we can all agree that Lionel Messi is certainly a legend within the game, the modern game. Such a wonderful talent.
“He proved that in the recent FIFA World Cup in America, Canada, and Mexico, he was outstanding.
“A lot of people criticized that he, he didn’t do enough, certainly in running stats, but at his age, does he need to have the stats when he still had the —— ability to score goals and certainly make Argentina tick?”
Clattenburg then spoke about refereeing Messi, highlighting how respectful the Argentine was before labelling him a ‘great talent’.
The 51-year-old also mentioned what he learned from Messi after watching him up close.
He continued: “I had the privilege to referee Messi playing for Barcelona, and one of the quick things that I learned was that he could quickly move the ball so fast with his feet and certainly had a low [centre of] gravity where he could just glide past players.
“He was certainly one of the best players in the world during that era and certainly has proved it in all competitions that he’s one of the best players in the modern game, and he was very respectful.
“I remember cautioning him at Paris Saint-Germain, very respectful. I was respectful to him, didn’t have any, certainly bad words.
“He accepted everything on the football field and certainly is a player that I will always see and be thankful that I could share the same football pitch as him because for me, this player was such a great talent.”
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