Christoph Kramer has compared facing Lionel Messi to his meeting with the Pope, with the Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder hailing the chances he has had to play against the Argentine.
The Paris Saint-Germain forward, a six-time Ballon d'Or winner, is considered one of the game's all-time greats, with plenty of his peers frequently queuing up to lavish praise upon him.
Gladbach midfielder Kramer has faced the attacker on several occasions, including in the Brazil 2014 World Cup Final, and has admitted that he has an image of the two facing off as his social media icon, such is the respect he has for the veteran attacker.
What has been said?
"This will always be my WhatsApp profile picture, the best moment I've played football my whole career," Kramer told DAZN, in reference to his on-field encounter with the Argentine. "Everyone wants to win a tackle against Messi, but nobody really manages to do it.
“I would have liked to have spoken with him, but I had too much respect to build up the conversation and I don’t know what language to speak!
"I have to say - and I only had a feeling like that when I met the Pope - there's something awesome about him standing face-to-face."
Kramer's record versus Messi
The former Germany international faced the Argentine in back-to-back seasons in the Champions League with Bayer Leverkusen, in 2015, and with Gladbach, in 2016, drawing the former and losing the latter.
But their most well-documented encounter remains the 2014 World Cup Final, when the former was a last-gasp call-up into the starting XI against La Albiceleste.
Kramer was forced off through injury half-an-hour in, but left with a winners' medal after Germany triumphed, denying Messi the one major honour of his career that continues to elude him.