Former Barcelona star Lionel Messi has taken a veiled dig at Real Madrid, following their Champions League success last season.

Messi believes Real Madrid were rather lucky with their Champions League success.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side’s run to the final itself was rather fortuitous as they saw off Messi’s Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Man City in the knockout stages despite repeatedly being close to suffering an early exit, before beating Liverpool in the final.

Messi is yet to win the Champions League since he did so with Barcelona back in 2015, while the closest PSG have come to lifting the trophy is their 2020 final loss to Bayern Munich. Yet the legendary Argentine is determined to end both droughts this season.

The Argentine is however well-aware just how difficult it is to win the Champions League. And in what appears to be a subtle dig at Madrid’s final victory over Liverpool, he pointed out that the Champions League is not always won by the ‘best team’.

He told TUDN, “The aim [for this season] is clear to everyone. PSG have been eager for a long time to win the Champions League.

“The elimination last season was very hard because of how it happened because we played two great games against Real Madrid and the tie was lost in small details.

“This is not a typical year, because the World Cup is in between the games, but the main objective of PSG, like every year, is to be able to compete for the Champions League.

“It is a very difficult competition to win because it is not always won by the best team, it is always decided by small details, any mistake leaves you out of a tie, but we are preparing ourselves for when those hard moments come, to be up to the task.”