'Messi was sitting there, depressed' - Matip reveals awkward encounter with Barca star after Liverpool comeback

Joel Matip has revealed an awkward encounter with a ‘depressed’ Lionel Messi after Liverpool’s stunning 4-0 win over Barcelona in the Champions League.

The Cameroonian defender has also given his verdict on Roberto Firmino’s unique dress sense, and explained how he sometimes has to provide translations for Jurgen Klopp’s jokes.

After Klopp’s side overturned a 3-0 deficit on a famous night at Anfield, Matip and Messi were the players selected for the post-match doping tests.

“After the game, we lined up arm-in-arm in front of the Kop together and sang ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ with the fans,” Matip told 11Freunde.

“That was one of the most beautiful moments of my career, maybe on the same level as my debut for Schalke in Munich.

“I didn’t care about anything; I was floating on air after singing with the fans.

“And when I came into the doping test room, there was a guy sitting there pretty depressed – Lionel Messi.

“You know each other from the pitch, but it’s not like you sit around with them every day in a small room like you’re getting coffee.

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“Everyone is celebrating, and I’m sitting in a cubicle with Messi.”

Klopp’s masterminding of the Barcelona comeback and the Champions League win which followed have helped elevate him toward legendary status at Liverpool.

However, he and his players still aren’t always on quite the same wavelength, according to Matip.

“Sometimes I’m the only one in the dressing room who understands his jokes straight away,” he said.

“I sit on the side and watch the others thinking about it.

“When the coach says things like ‘that was not the yellow from the egg,’ which means ‘that wasn’t exactly brilliant,’ only the assistant coach and I burst out laughing.

“Then I have to explain what the sentences mean to the others.”

Matip also reserved some praise for the sartorial know-how of forward Firmino – and admitted he had no hope of emulating the Brazilian’s esoteric style.

“The boy dresses as if he had completely stripped a mannequin,” Matip said.

“But he can pull it off. I look like a Bond villain in these clothes.”