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In 2010, Barcelona legend Hristo Stoichkov claimed that you would need a machine gun to stop Lionel Messi on the pitch. The legendary Argentine forward was almost 15 years younger and starting to show his immense capabilities at the sport's highest level.
Stoichkov made 255 appearances for the Catalan side, scoring 117 and assisting 29 to help Blaugrana to five LaLiga, two Copa del Rey, and one UEFA Champions League titles. He was particularly impressed by Messi's performance in a dominant 2-0 league win over eternal rivals Real Madrid in April 2010.
Stoichkov told Bulgarian daily newspaper Trud (via Reuters):
"Once they said they can only stop me with a pistol, but today you need a machine gun to stop him."
