Lionel Messi has picked his favorite goal of his career, selecting the header he scored in the 2009 UEFA Champions League final for Barcelona as the goal that stands above the rest.
Messi scored in the 70th minute of Barcelona’s over Manchester United at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico, giving his side a 2-0 advantage that was more than enough to win the Champions League. The play started with an ineffective clearance from United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, with Carles Puyol pouncing on the opportunity. He then sent the ball to Samuel Eto’o, who had already scored the opening goal of the game in the 10th minute, and then crossed the ball to Messi. The Argentine leaped for the ball and got his head on it, putting it in the back of the net.
“Because of the moment it happened, because of what it meant, because it crowned an unforgettable year,” Messi said in a video shared by his current club, Inter Miami. “For me, it’s the most meaningful goal of all.”
Messi earned man of the match honors in Rome, where he won the second of his four Champions League titles with Barcelona and capped off the first of two treble-winning seasons he enjoyed with the club. It was also the only major final in which he faced off against Cristiano Ronaldo, who played all 90 minutes for United on that day.
The 37-year-old named his favorite goal as part of an initiative for Inter Miami’s IMCF Foundation, who have tasked award-winning visual artist Refik Anadol with transforming the goal into a piece of art as part of a charitable initiative.