ATLETICO MADRID manager Diego Simeone gave Kieran Trippier just one word of advice to help him deal with Lionel Messi.
The defender joined the LaLiga side from Tottenham in 2019, which meant he would be coming up against the Argentine star.
AFPKieran Trippier spent three years at Atletico Madrid before joining Newcastle[/caption]
GettyHe was told to ‘pray’ when playing against Lionel Messi by manager Diego Simeone[/caption]
He spent three years in Spain before returning to England but revealed how his manager struggled to come up with a plan to stop Messi.
The 32-year-old has revealed that Simeone would tell him to “pray” ahead of facing the former Barcelona star.
Trippier told GOAL: “You can’t to be fair. It’s funny because obviously, Simeone was the manager [and] they are both Argentinian.
“Even he would say before the meetings, just basically ‘pray.’ You just can’t do anything.
“You can’t organise or set up to stop him because he’s that unique.”
Trippier enjoyed a successful spell with Atletico Madrid as he was part of the side that won the LaLiga title in 2021.
The defender believes that he benefitted from the experience of playing abroad and thinks others should follow in his footsteps.
He added: “Hopefully, many more English players do it because I learned so much experience playing out there with Simeone.
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“I learned a lot about myself as well.
“Go out and enjoy the game, go and enjoy the life out in Spain, the food, the weather. It was an incredible couple of years.”