Didier Drogba has reminisced about the brilliance that Lionel Messi accentuated in 2012.
Drogba expressed how he was gobsmacked by the output of Messi during that year, scoring 91 goals in 69 appearances.
Lionel Messi displayed surreal quality in 2012, with him shattering the record of many greats to etch his name in history.
The 36-year-old bypassed the 75 goals netted by Pele in 1958, alongside the 85 goals scored by Gerd Muller in 1972.
The record by the Argentine was very much talked about at the time and it still spikes up conversation to date.
Anyway, during the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League campaign, Chelsea played against Barcelona in the semi-final.
The Blues came out tops after two legs, following a 1-0 victory in the first leg at Stamford Bridge, courtesy of a goal by Didier Drogba in the 45th minute.
In the second installment, both sides played out a 2-2 draw at Camp Nou, with Sergio Busquets and Iniesta scoring for the Blaugrana side.
Ramires and Fernando Torres found the back of the net for Chelsea, as they secured a 3-2 aggregate win over the Catalan giants.
They ultimately went on to win the UEFA Champions League that campaign, defeating Bayern Munich 4-3 on penalties, after playing a 1-1 draw in regulation time and extra time.
Anyway, Drogba has flashed back to the “crazy number” that Lionel Messi recorded that season, with him sharing how shocked he was by it.
The Ivorian great, who recently saw his nation win the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, defeating Nigeria 2-1 in the final at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium revealed how then-Chelsea boss Roberto Di Matteo prepared the team for games.
He said: “I remember one story very well. Di Matteo, Chelsea's manager at the time, did as usual and gave us a list of the opposing team’s top scorers.
“It was by example lists with Wayne Rooney-22 goals, Robin van Persie-15 goals, and so on.”
Didier Drogba then went on to touch on the staggering goal statistics that Lionel Messi put up that season, comparing it with other Barcelona players.
The 45-year-old said: “Then, one day, we faced Barcelona and when he put the list of scorers, in third place there was Xavi with 14 goals, in second place Alexis Sanchez and Cesc Fabregas were at 15 goals.
“But we all started laughing when the top scorer appeared on the screen. It was Leo Messi. with 63 goals including 14 goals in the Champions League. 63 goals this season!"
The former Galatasaray man then added that after he and his teammates at Chelsea had seen the astonishing figure, they gazed at each other in disbelief.
He said: “It was such a crazy number that we looked at each other with disbelieving faces and started laughing.
“What else could we do? I even took a picture of the number of goals because it was outrageous.”
Meanwhile, Didier Drogba played for several teams in his career, including; Olympique Marseille, Shanghai Shenhua, and Montreal.
He had a successful career winning many trophies, including; 5 League titles - 4 Premier League, 1 Turkish Super Lig, 1 UEFA Champions League, and 4 FA Cups.
The only blemish to his trophy-laden career was his not winning the Africa Cup of Nations title.
Drogba is regarded as one of the greatest African players of all time, hugely respected for the quality he showed during his career.
He made 688 club appearances during his career, scoring 302 goals and providing 127 assists in all competitions.
Drogba expressed how he was gobsmacked by the output of Messi during that year, scoring 91 goals in 69 appearances.
Lionel Messi displayed surreal quality in 2012, with him shattering the record of many greats to etch his name in history.
The 36-year-old bypassed the 75 goals netted by Pele in 1958, alongside the 85 goals scored by Gerd Muller in 1972.
The record by the Argentine was very much talked about at the time and it still spikes up conversation to date.
Anyway, during the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League campaign, Chelsea played against Barcelona in the semi-final.
The Blues came out tops after two legs, following a 1-0 victory in the first leg at Stamford Bridge, courtesy of a goal by Didier Drogba in the 45th minute.
In the second installment, both sides played out a 2-2 draw at Camp Nou, with Sergio Busquets and Iniesta scoring for the Blaugrana side.
Ramires and Fernando Torres found the back of the net for Chelsea, as they secured a 3-2 aggregate win over the Catalan giants.
They ultimately went on to win the UEFA Champions League that campaign, defeating Bayern Munich 4-3 on penalties, after playing a 1-1 draw in regulation time and extra time.
Anyway, Drogba has flashed back to the “crazy number” that Lionel Messi recorded that season, with him sharing how shocked he was by it.
The Ivorian great, who recently saw his nation win the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, defeating Nigeria 2-1 in the final at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium revealed how then-Chelsea boss Roberto Di Matteo prepared the team for games.
He said: “I remember one story very well. Di Matteo, Chelsea's manager at the time, did as usual and gave us a list of the opposing team’s top scorers.
“It was by example lists with Wayne Rooney-22 goals, Robin van Persie-15 goals, and so on.”
Didier Drogba then went on to touch on the staggering goal statistics that Lionel Messi put up that season, comparing it with other Barcelona players.
The 45-year-old said: “Then, one day, we faced Barcelona and when he put the list of scorers, in third place there was Xavi with 14 goals, in second place Alexis Sanchez and Cesc Fabregas were at 15 goals.
“But we all started laughing when the top scorer appeared on the screen. It was Leo Messi. with 63 goals including 14 goals in the Champions League. 63 goals this season!"
The former Galatasaray man then added that after he and his teammates at Chelsea had seen the astonishing figure, they gazed at each other in disbelief.
He said: “It was such a crazy number that we looked at each other with disbelieving faces and started laughing.
“What else could we do? I even took a picture of the number of goals because it was outrageous.”
Meanwhile, Didier Drogba played for several teams in his career, including; Olympique Marseille, Shanghai Shenhua, and Montreal.
He had a successful career winning many trophies, including; 5 League titles - 4 Premier League, 1 Turkish Super Lig, 1 UEFA Champions League, and 4 FA Cups.
The only blemish to his trophy-laden career was his not winning the Africa Cup of Nations title.
Drogba is regarded as one of the greatest African players of all time, hugely respected for the quality he showed during his career.
He made 688 club appearances during his career, scoring 302 goals and providing 127 assists in all competitions.