After Messi announced his retirement from international football, Giggs and Ferdinand discussed their encounters with Messi on a podcast.

For those who never had the chance to face Messi, we both did. We've both faced him. Now that he's retired from international football, it's time we tell people what it's like to face Messi. Why don't you start? Because my experience wasn't pleasant.

Actually, it wasn't good at all. In my early encounters with him, it felt manageable. He was playing on the right wing then, and I remember Evra defending him very well. But then he got freedom and could roam wherever he wanted. In the Champions League final at Wembley, I was playing as a midfielder, so he was close to me. When he entered my area, I thought in the first few minutes I'd have direct contact with him, but I got knocked off the ball. I tried to use my strength, but he didn't budge at all. He just dribbled away.

Everyone knows his and Ronaldo's class, their ability, their goal-scoring and consistency, but people also forget that these players rarely suffer injuries and rarely miss matches. Athletes from two or three decades ago were different from now—tackling was rougher back then—but they would still get up after fouls. Without missing matches and avoiding injuries, we'll never see such a level again. You can't stop Messi with your hands because he's small and just slips through. He's extremely quick and can change direction at will. His acceleration is remarkable, especially over short distances—it's the most impressive thing I've ever seen. You think you've cornered him against the wall, but suddenly he's gone. It's really a nightmare, and clearly it was harder for me.

He knows exactly where to go, and nobody can restrict him. Like in the World Cup match against England, he found a position where everyone surrounded him. We should have restricted him, but for some reason, we couldn't in that match. I still can't understand why we didn't? It's football intelligence, pure game intelligence—knowing where to be. You talk about moving from the wing into a central attacking midfield role, and he does it brilliantly. That's a masterclass. I think players like Yamal could become that type in the future. What are the challenges of transitioning from a wing position to a central role? After all, there's more physical contact in midfield.

Although there's more physical contact around you, you also have more directional options, and everything becomes more open. However, when you play on the wing, the fullback gives you only one option.

I'd say Messi's performance as a traditional winger was remarkable, but when he played freely, his performance reached a new level because he could drop deep and receive the ball. Yes, he doesn't run much. I've never seen anyone walk as much as Messi. He's just conserving energy, and the team also sets up tactically around him because he brings so much. So he just strolls into that area, receives the ball, and as I said, from a standing position, he accelerates to maximum speed. I've never seen anything like it. His center of gravity is very low. You can't stop him with your hands. He's very difficult to deal with—simply unstoppable.

You mentioned acceleration is his superpower. Would you rank his acceleration as one of the strongest aspects of his game at that time?

Yes, his balance and acceleration. Because match tempo is so fast, opponents will accelerate past him, but Messi has both balance and power. He's very strong—small, but with thick legs. He has everything: confidence, ball control, positioning, ability to move the ball past defenders.

I think finding space is an underrated aspect of his game. We always talk about him with the ball, but as the most explosive player on the pitch who can exploit space, he's also the most lethal and decisive. Usually, such players are marked tightly or double-marked, but he always finds the ball when he has time and space. That's a tremendous ability.

Right, those defenders all wanted to restrict him, but none of them ever succeeded. It's his experience and intelligence. He can dribble directly, and no matter how the ball is played to him, he can control it perfectly. He can do anything, and he can even score with his head.

When you faced him, did you feel some sort of aura around him?

I don't know if you'd agree, but that was the greatest team I ever faced—the team at Wembley. Yes. Xavi, Busquets, Puyol, Iniesta. I think without Messi, we could have beaten that team. But with Messi, it was impossible. I've never said this before because they had so many great players. But they had Messi. He's unstoppable. He'd pick up the ball in space on the right, space on the left, take a shot, and score. Very difficult to defend. Because you play for Man United, you'd think that no matter how strong the opponent is—Real Madrid, Juventus, AC Milan—you feel you can beat them. But looking back at that Champions League final, that match was genuinely difficult because of Messi. Of course, they had other great players too.

Going back to that match, as a coach, I'm curious about your thoughts on it? Especially the Wembley match—do you think we could have handled it differently? Not just to play better.

I think we had to play a perfect match, and they had to have an off day, but they really had no weaknesses. I wish we could have done better. I mean, there was little difference between the two teams—I think the issue was Messi. He was really difficult for us.

Because we'd played so well that season, it was hard for us to adapt to their tempo, like assigning someone to mark Messi or something—it was really difficult. So we just had to play the way we'd played against other teams in the Champions League, and we'd played well, but that team was just on a different level.

I remember sitting in the dressing room, wondering what was happening. Like the Wembley match, I remember standing with you and Scholes, arms crossed, saying "Please help us"—just wanting to escape the humiliation. It was so embarrassing. I think all my friends would say, "Wow, you got demolished in the final." That will probably stay with me forever.

Yes, as I said, we had to play a perfect match, and they had to slip up a bit, and Messi had to slip up a bit, but he usually doesn't in these big occasions. That shows he's a great player—it's really difficult.

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