Former Real Madrid star Marcelo has admitted that he once attempted to ‘hit’ FC Barcelona legend Lionel Messi during intense El Clásico encounters. The revelation came during his appearance on the Spanish television programme La Revuelta on Monday evening.

Marcelo, who recently retired as one of football’s most decorated players, was invited to discuss the greatest player of all time. Naturally, this led him to talk about Messi, who often played on the right flank for Barcelona—putting the Brazilian left-back in direct opposition to him.

“I have a lot of respect for him. He’s a genius, he’s incredible. I thought you were going to show me clips of him embarrassing me,” Marcelo said with a laugh.

“I didn’t even see him go past me. He was so fast. But no problem—I was born in a place where dribbling is everything, not getting dribbled past,” he added.

During the interview, Marcelo was shown a clip of the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner getting the better of him. When asked to name the greatest footballer in history, he hesitated, acknowledging legends such as Diego Maradona, Pelé, Alfredo Di Stéfano, and Johan Cruyff before joking about his struggles against Messi.

“The problem with Messi,” Marcelo admitted, “is that I wanted to hit him, but I couldn’t catch him.”

Messi’s main contemporary rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, was also discussed. Marcelo, who shared the pitch with Ronaldo for over a decade at Madrid, reflected on the fierce competition between the two superstars.

“Cristiano believes he’s the best. There was a time when it got crazy—if one scored two goals, the other had to score three. We witnessed it live and enjoyed it a lot. People were too focused on comparisons and forgot to appreciate what they were watching,” he remarked.

Despite his deep ties to Madrid, Marcelo revealed that he has maintained good relationships with several Barcelona players.

“I get along very well with some Barça players,” he said. “I still speak to [Gerard] Piqué—he’s very authentic and sincere, and I appreciate that. I also have a great deal of respect for [Carles] Puyol, [Andrés] Iniesta, and Xavi [Hernández].”

Reflecting on the Guardiola era at Barcelona, Marcelo admitted it was particularly challenging for Real Madrid.

“That period was tough. We had to try and keep possession, but it was very difficult,” he recalled.

Looking ahead, Marcelo’s current focus is on exploring art, music, and cinema alongside his wife. However, he has not ruled out a future return to Real Madrid in some capacity.