New Delhi [India], July 8 (ANI): Thierry Henry said his former Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi reminded everyone that he is “not human” after the Argentina captain inspired a dramatic comeback against Egypt, saying the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner has a unique ability to raise his game when his team needs him the most.
Reacting to Argentina’s 3-2 victory over Egypt in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16, Henry, while speaking on Fox Sports, reflected on his years as Messi’s teammate at Barcelona and said the Argentine’s competitive fire is unlike anything he has witnessed.
“First and foremost, look at him crying, and how much that means to him and to the team,” Henry said, as quoted by Fox Sports.
“It first reminded us that he’s human; he’s human because he missed some penalty kicks, four out of eight. Then it reminds us again that he’s not human!”
Henry and Messi played together at FC Barcelona for three seasons, from 2007 to 2010. During their time together, they helped the club win seven major trophies, including the historic 2009 treble (La Liga, Copa del Rey, and UEFA Champions League).
Henry then recalled a training-ground incident during their time together to explain what motivates Messi.
“I played with him as you just mentioned, and what happens with Leo–don’t wake the sleeping beast inside him! That’s exactly what’s happening, and I’ve seen it up close in training,” he said, according to Fox Sports.
He added, “You know how it can be in training sometimes; when one of the coaches doesn’t want to call a foul, or when the ball goes out, and play continues, and then a goal is scored from it, and Leo wanted that ball called out or as a foul. And when the coach said, ‘The ball didn’t go out, stop complaining, this could happen in a match.’ In the next moment, you look into his eyes and find that he’s completely transformed!”
“He goes and takes the ball, and I was there and witnessed it myself, then he scores three goals in a row; he takes the ball from you and scores straight away, then he snatches it again and scores, then he snatches it and scores again, then he turns around and says: ‘Next time, call the foul.’ And we were all saying: ‘Yeah, yeah, next time we’ll call the foul!’ Because you simply can’t stop him. When he gets into that mood, it’s very hard to contain him,” Henry further added.
Henry said Messi displayed the same mentality against Egypt, refusing to let an earlier penalty miss define his performance.
“And as you know, Zlatan, you’ve been in this situation; this guy, and let’s be honest, it doesn’t always work out–but when his team needs it, he completely elevates his game. We’re talking about a player who played 120 minutes in the last match, and yet he elevated his level, started taking the ball and dribbling past almost everyone to try to change the course of the game… wow,” he said, as per Fox Sports.
The French great admitted that even after sharing the pitch with some of football’s biggest names, Messi continued to leave him in awe.
“In truth, looking at him, I was just remembering the days of playing with him. I played with Zizou and with a lot of great players like Ronaldinho and others, and it’s no shame to say this, but sometimes when he scored some goals and I was on the field with him, I’d take a second or two to process and say to myself: ‘Wow!’ Then I’d remember: ‘Oh, you’re playing now, get back into the match!’ That doesn’t happen to me much, but he’s a unique version of it,” he added.
“Look, we’re here in the Los Angeles area, Culver City or whatever it is, and this scenario is like a Hollywood movie! There are things that feel almost scripted, like a film plot that couldn’t happen in real life, to the point where you’d say the director overdid this storyline! But this guy writes history with his feet,” he concluded.
Messi recovered from his first-half penalty miss to play a decisive role as Argentina overturned a 2-0 deficit. After Yasser Ibrahim’s opener and Mostafa Ziko’s second-half strike put Egypt in control, Cristian Romero sparked the comeback with a header before Messi equalised in the 83rd minute.
Enzo Fernandez then scored the stoppage-time winner to send the defending champions into the quarter-finals against Switzerland.
Messi’s equaliser also extended his remarkable World Cup legacy. The 39-year-old became the first player in history to score in nine consecutive FIFA World Cup matches and took his tally in the ongoing tournament to eight goals, matching Guillermo Stabile’s Argentina record for the most goals in a single World Cup edition, set in 1930.
According to Opta, he also became the first player to score in six successive knockout-stage matches and increased his all-time World Cup record to 21 goals. Despite those achievements, his earlier spot-kick miss made him the first player to miss two penalties in a single World Cup edition (excluding shootouts) and took his career tally of missed World Cup penalties to four, the most by any player. (ANI)
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