Manuel Akanji has proved himself to be a very capable defender during his time at Manchester City.
Since joining City back in the 2022 summer transfer window from Borussia Dortmund in a deal worth £15m, the defender has gone on to make 99 appearances for the Blues across all competitions.
In terms of his defensive ability, Danny Murphy called Akanji a “Rolls-Royce” player back in July.
Now though, having started his third season at the Etihad Stadium, Akanji has revealed which player he has found it the hardest to come up against.
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Manuel Akanji names Lionel Messi as his toughest opponent
Featuring in a recent video shared on the Man City YouTube channel, Akanji had this to say when asked who the toughest player he’s ever faced is.
He said: “It’s not one that plays in the Premier League but I think the most difficult to guard was Lionel Messi.
“He’s been unbelievable with the ball.
“As a defender, I think you somehow learn how to read a player, what’s his favourite thing to do, where to go with the ball, what his next decision will be.
“But with him, he was so unpredictable, if you think he would go left, he would go right, if you think he would go right, he would go left.
“So for me, it’s definitely the most difficult player to guard.”
Messi is any defender’s worst nightmare
Akanji has only faced off against Messi twice, which came during the 2019/20 season where his Dortmund side played Barcelona in the group stage of the Champions League.
After drawing 0-0 in the first game in Germany, Akanji’s Dortmund side lost 3-1 away from home, with Messi scoring one and delivering two assists on the night.
Throughout his career, the Argentine has scored 729 goals and delivered 354 assists in 882 senior club appearances.
With 211 of those goals coming across the 219 games he played for Barcelona under Pep Guardiola, it’s safe to say that the City manager will not be surprised to hear that Akanji has named Messi as his toughest opponent.
