Kramer: Playing against Messi like meeting the Pope

Christoph Kramer

said that his encounter with

Lionel Messi

is like meeting with the Pope, with the midfielder delighted to have had played against the Argentina international.

The

forward is one of the all-time greats of the game, with many of his peers keen on lavishing praise upon the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner.

The

midfielder went against the Argentine several times, like the World Cup Final in Brazil in 2014. He has revealed that he has a picture of the two going against each other as his social media icon. This is how much he respects him.

"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 clash 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."

The ex-Germany international also faced Messi in 2015 in the

with Bayer Leverkusen as well as in 2016 with Gladbach.

However, their most well-documented game stays the World Cup Final in 2014. Kramer had to be sent out due to an injury but his side won, denying Messi the one big honor he is still desiring.

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