I'm an ex Rangers star who has faced Lionel Messi in the twilight of his career but I can assure you he's still a joke
Gers hero Scott Arfield came up against the Argentine football icon during his stint Stateside with Charlotte FC
Lionel Messi may be coming to the end of his illustrious career with Inter Miami ahead of his 38th birthday this summer.
But the former Barcelona and PSG superstar is still a 'joke' who has more than enough speed of the mark.
That's the view of ex Rangers star and current Record Sport columnist Scott Arfield, who came face-to-face with the footballing god during his year in the MLS with Charlotte FC.
Arfield joined up with the US club after leaving Rangers in the summer of 2023, and netted three times in 33 matches.
One of those outings came off the bench in a 1-0 win against David-Beckham owned Inter Miami in October 2023, who pitted Arfield and his team against not only Messi but two other Barcelona legends in Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.
And while Arfield - who re-joined his first club Falkirk in January - was only on the field for the last 15 minutes, he insists Messi's performance made him thankful that he wasn't up against the 2022 World Cup winner in his prime.
In an interview with FourFourTwo, he said: "His acceleration is just a joke.
"I can only imagine how tough it would have been 10 years ago. As for Sergio Busquets, he must have four eyes. He sees everything.
"It was so difficult to play against them, never mind in 50-degree heat with blond hair. I was burning up!"
Arfield has also opened up on what it was like to play under Steven Gerrard at Rangers, with the Canada international becoming the Liverpool icon's first signing at Ibrox on a free transfer from Burnley in May 2018.
The midfielder went onto score 21 times across his first two seasons in Govan and has revealed he enjoyed a personal relationship with his manager- who led Gers to an unbeaten Premiership title triumph in 2021.
"It was more personal than a standard player-manager on," Arfield added. "I recall thinking that if I couldn’t become a better player under somebody like him, I might as well chuck it in.
"I made sure to pick his brains whenever I could. That 2020/21 title-winning season was very special."
Follow Record Sport on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for all of the up-to-the minute breaking news, video and audio on the SPFL, the Scotland national team and beyond.
You can get all the news you need on our dedicated Rangers and Celtic pages, and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season.
We're also on WhatsApp where we bring all the latest breaking news and transfer gossip directly to you phone. Join our Rangers community here and our Celtic community here.
Tune in to Hotline Live every Sunday to Thursday and have your say on the biggest issues in Scottish football and listen to Record Sport's newest podcast, Game On, every Friday for your sporting fix, all in bitesize chunks.