Lionel Messi’s Barcelona Goal That Thierry Henry Said ‘Was Not Normal'

Lionel Messi's ability to score wonder goals sets him apart from other world-class players.

Thierry Henry considers a lesser-known Messi goal to be the best he's ever seen.

Messi's unmatched control and skill make him a once-in-a-lifetime talent.

Lionel Messi has made scoring wonder goals a formality throughout his remarkable career. If you were to rank the 30 greatest goals that the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner has ever netted, you could rest assured that most world-class players could only dream of scoring one of them.

Particularly during his pomp, Messi had an uncanny ability to dribble past opponents like they weren't even there - and that led to him scoring a truly astonishing number of individual goals. This is just one of many reasons that has led to many regarding the Argentine as the greatest player of all time. He even had some of the incredible teammates he shared a dressing room with during his career in complete awe at times.

This is proven by Thierry Henry's recalling of his favourite goal scored by his former Barcelona colleague. The Frenchman is one of the best players to have graced a football pitch in the past 20 years, meaning his praise is hard to earn and very complimentary to earn.

Everyone remembers the Diego Maradona-esque run against Getafe and that might well endure as his finest-ever strike, but that booming zenith of Messi's career was jam-packed full of goals where he breezed past multiple defenders. And that's why Messi is arguably completely unique in the fact that one of his so-called forgotten goals could possibly be heralded by somebody as one of the greatest that they've ever seen.

GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: Lionel Messi's tally of 778 Barcelona goals is more than twice as many as any other player in the club's history.

Not just any old person, either, because none other than Henry considers a stunner that you don't necessarily see populating top ten lists to be the finest Messi strike he's ever laid his eyes upon. Yep, the man widely regarded as the greatest player in Premier League history has a slightly unorthodox choice when it comes to the GOAT's best-ever goal - although it makes complete sense when the Frenchman breaks it down.

Speaking during the 2018 film 'Take The Ball, Pass The Ball,' Messi's former teammate recalled an astonishing finish from the Argentine wizard during a La Liga clash with Malaga in the 2008-09 season. And more so than Messi's goal against Getafe, Henry felt particularly blown away by how Barcelona's all-time record scorer left everybody for dead with blink-and-you'll-miss-it footwork.

Henry explained: “The best goal I’ve seen him score was against Malaga at home because that defied logic what he did. Diagonal ball, he controls it on his chest, runs at full speed. First player goes, the second player is just behind. He takes another step, that player can clear the ball.

“If he’s got the ball on his left foot here, how do you go back with that same leg and touch the ball in the air, in between the two to make sure that guy doesn’t touch it - and then almost fail but smash it into the top corner. That’s not normal.”

You know that your body of work is mind-blowing when you can score a wonder goal that simultaneously gets lost in the shuffle and is considered by Henry as the greatest he's ever seen. And you can easily see why Henry felt particularly enamored with that often forgotten Messi strike, because to be so masterfully in control of the ball against so many opponents and with so little time is beyond our comprehension.

We really are blessed that when the sad, sad day comes when Messi hangs up his boots, we can be safe in the knowledge he's left us with so much to remember him by that even moments of generational genius can slip our minds. He really has been a once-in-a-lifetime talent.

Everything you need to know about Lionel Messi and his net worth, taking into account his current salary, endorsements and more.

Henry was asked about his experience of playing and training alongside Messi at Barcelona by Gary Lineker on the Rest Is Football podcast. The Arsenal legend, who played alongside the Argentine at Camp Nou between 2007-2010, admits the diminutive genius was on a totally different planet to everyone else.

He said: "I've seen a lot. I, myself, did a lot. This guy, it is not normal. I know people will say 'he walks...'. Do you know how hard it is to carry a ball on every single action?" Lineker added: "It's gruelling." Henry continued: "Every. Single. Action.

"I don't like when people don't balance it out. He walks when he doesn't have the ball. Maybe sometimes, maybe a lot sometimes. Can we talk about when he has the ball, then? Because every single time, he's accelerating, turning, stopping, going, getting kicked, getting up. Do you know how hard it is on your body to do that? So, carry a ball on the grass, getting kicked, having vision, protecting it, running on one leg.... can he maybe walk sometimes? If you make me win, you can walk anywhere [laughs]. Only him, though. Youngsters, don't do that. Don't walk! We're talking about Messi."

Messi is now 38 years old and enjoying his football again after leaving Paris Saint-Germain for Inter Miami. While Qatar 2022 was expected to be Messi's final appearance at a World Cup, Messi was still playing at a high enough level to represent La Albiceleste at the next showpiece international tournament in 2026, which was held in Mexico, Canada, and the United States - where he now resides.

Asked about his plans for the future during a 2024 interview, per SPORT, Messi said: "I haven't thought about it and I don't want to think about it either. I want to continue enjoying what I do. I took an important step leaving Europe behind. I don't want to think about the next step, I want to enjoy what I like most, which is playing. It's a job that I love, I'm lucky. I have responsibilities. I don't know what I will do, I like everything related to football, I like being with kids, teaching, also being a sporting director, but I don't know where I'm going to go."

If further proof that Lionel Messi isn't from this planet was needed, Kevin-Prince Boateng has certainly provided it with this brilliant tale.

All statistics in this article are courtesy of Transfermarkt. Correct as of 20/06/2026.