Kieran Trippier reflects on facing Lionel Messi: ‘He can walk for 60 minutes then score a hat-trick’

Kieran Trippier opened up on what it’s like to defend against Lionel Messi, reflecting on years of head-to-head battles with the Argentine great after a training session with Wolverhampton, his newest club.

The 35-year-old right-back’s comments came just weeks after England’s heartbreaking 2026 World Cup semifinal exit to Argentina, a result that once again put Messi’s brilliance on full display against one of the tournament’s toughest defenses.

For Trippier, the challenge of marking Messi is unlike anything else in the game. The Argentine’s ability to seemingly disappear from a match for long stretches before suddenly deciding it in the blink of an eye is what makes him so uniquely difficult to contain.

“He can walk for 60 minutes but then score a hat-trick. That’s his magic,” Trippier told The Guardian, summing up the unpredictable threat Messi poses even when he appears disengaged from the run of play.

Trippier credits Simeone’s approach

Trippier also drew on his extensive experience facing Messi during his time at Atletico Madrid under Diego Simeone, crediting his former manager’s tactical setups for helping neutralize the Argentine on multiple occasions.

“I’ve been in that situation many times with Simeone; I could name 30 matches where he’s done it and we’ve come through. That’s typical Simeone. He’s a master of tricks and winning matches. We were against one of the best players in history who can change everything in two seconds,” he said about the Argentine coach.

Trippier’s rivalry with Messi

Trippier’s history with Messi spans two different stages of his career. He first faced the Argentine while at Tottenham, starting in Spurs’ 2-4 Champions League defeat to Barcelona at Wembley in October 2018 — a night Messi capped with a brace — before the two sides met again in the reverse fixture in Barcelona.

Trippier’s battles with Messi continued after his move to Atletico Madrid, where he faced him repeatedly in LaLiga under Simeone, meetings he says numbered into the dozens.