Lionel Messi is undoubtedly one of the greater soccer players the world has ever seen, but that hasn’t stopped him from suffering from heartbreaking defeats in his career. Another one is in the offing for the Inter Miami star against Paris Saint-Germain, who raced into a 4-0 lead in the FIFA Club World Cup round-of-16 clash in Atlanta.
Luis Enrique’s team still have work to do in the second half to inflict Messi’s heaviest ever defeat in a professional soccer game, although it is certainly within reach.
Bad days at the office for Messi
In his time playing for Barcelona, PSG, Inter Miami and Argentina, Messi has lost by a four-goal margin on several occasions, but two heavier defeats stand out above the rest.
In April 2009, the 38-year-old was part of the Argentina team that was suffered a shock 6-1 thrashing at the hands of Bolivia in a 2010 World Cup qualifier in La Paz, known for its difficult conditions at high altitude.
Lionel Messi’s heaviest ever loss in soccer
Messi’s worst loss, however, came in the 8-2 humbling suffered by Barcelona against Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinals in 2020. Due to the covid-19 pandemic, the knockout stages consisted of single-leg ties played in Lisbon, probably to Barça’s relief.