I only came up against Lionel Messi once, when I came on to help Manchester United see out our win over Barcelona in the 2008 Champions League semi-finals, but that was enough to find out how difficult it is to stop him.
It looks easier when you are watching from the bench but it is a different story when you are out on the pitch with him. You only really realise just how quickly he moves after he has accelerated past you.
We managed to get the better of him that night, but it was obviously a different story when Barca beat us in the final in 2009 and outclassed us completely at Wembley in 2011.
United are about to take on Barcelona for the first time since losing that night, and how they deal with Messi is probably even more important this time.
Of course Messi is still a brilliant goalscorer too, but at the age of 31 it feels like he also has more influence in setting the pace of the game, which is something he did not do as much of back then.
Against Tottenham in the group stage, he literally ran everything and it was an absolute joy to watch. It was a masterclass of passing, assists, goalscoring and controlling the whole tempo of the match.
That is what he will be trying to do against United, and manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has to come up with a plan to deal with it.
It will be very difficult but we managed to beat Barca in 2008 by sitting deep, absorbing pressure and looking to hit them on the break. Looking at the strengths and weaknesses of both teams now, that could work for United again.
