Mauricio Pochettino is in the headlines after he made the bold decision to substitute Lionel Messi during Paris Saint-Germain’s tight 2-1 victory against Lyon on Sunday. How many times has Messi been subbed you might ask? Almost never.
With the scored tied at 1-1 Pochettino felt that taking Messi out of the game would help his side.
PSG did find a late winner through Mauro Icardi, but reporters have still been asking Pochettino why he substituted Messi in the 76th minute. The PSG manager said that Messi didn’t have a problem with being taken out of the game.
If Messi didn’t have a problem with it then why all the media fuss? Part of the reason there has been such a big reaction is due to how rare it is for Messi to be taken out of a close game. Why would anyone ever take out one of the best players in the world?
This begs the question; how many times has Messi been subbed out? Courtesy of Transfermarkt, I went through the last twelve seasons of Messi’s career for club and country to find the answer. Since 2010 Messi has only been subbed out nine times for non-injury related reasons. All nine games were ones that Barcelona had a comfortable grip on the game and that Messi had scored in.
How Many Times Has Messi Been Subbed (Since 2010)
- Jan. 9, 2021: Messi was subbed out in the 65th minute vs. Granada. At the time of the substitution Messi had scored twice and Barcelona was leading 4-0.
- Jan. 11, 2018: Messi was subbed out in the 59th minute vs. Celta Vigo. At the time of the substitution Messi had scored twice and Barcelona was leading 4-0.
- April 26, 2017: Messi was subbed out in the 63rd minute vs. Osasuna. At the time of the substitution Messi had scored twice and Barcelona was leading 4-1.
- March 1, 2017: Messi was subbed out in the 61st minute vs. Sporting Gijón. At the time of the substitution Messi had scored once and Barcelona was leading 5-1.
- Feb. 4, 2017: Messi was subbed out in the 64th minute vs. Athletic Bilbao. At the time of the substitution Messi had scored once and Barcelona was leading 2-0.
- Jan. 17, 2016: Messi was subbed out in the 45th minute vs. Athletic Bilbao. At the time of the substitution Messi had scored once and Barcelona was leading 2-0.
- Oct. 21, 2014: Messi was subbed out in the 66th minute vs. Ajax. At the time of the substitution Messi had scored once and Barcelona was tied 1-1. Barcelona was in control of the game and went on to win 3-1.
- Jan. 24, 2013: Messi was subbed out in the 83rd minute vs. Málaga. At the time of the substitution Messi had scored once and Barcelona was leading 4-2.
- Jan. 12, 2011: Messi was subbed out in the 86th minute vs. Real Betis. At the time of the substitution Messi had scored a hat trick and Barcelona was leading 5-0.
As you can see, managers simply don’t remove Messi from the equation during a close game.