One of the many fascinating sub-plots surrounding Tuesday's Champions League last 16 first leg between heavyweights Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid will be Lionel Messi's reunion with his greatest career rivals.
For the first time in his illustrious career, Messi will not be wearing a Barcelona shirt against Real Madrid, having left the Catalan giants for PSG last summer.
The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner is yet to produce his very best in a PSG shirt, but he will no doubt be licking his lips at renewing acquaintances with an opponent against whom he has enjoyed some of his most memorable moments.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at Messi's past record against Real Madrid.
Messi has come up against Real Madrid more often than any other opponent throughout his career, with Tuesday's first leg set to be his 46th appearance against Los Blancos.
The Argentine maestro has enjoyed himself in that time too, directly contributing to a whopping 40 goals - scoring 26 and creating a further 14.
Messi's 26-goal tally remains an all-time record for El Clasico fixtures - one which may never be beaten - and he has only scored more times against Sevilla, Atletico Madrid, Valencia and Athletic Bilbao.
Sevilla, Levante and Getafe are the only teams Messi has recorded more assists against during his career too, although the Clasico contests often brought out the rougher side of the Barcelona legend as well.
Messi picked up 14 yellow cards against Madrid - more than against any other opponent - although none of those resulted in him being sent off.
Of his 45 previous meetings with Los Blancos, Messi has ended up on the winning side 19 times, with 11 draws and 15 defeats - a respectable win ratio of 42%.
The only competition Messi has not tasted defeat against Real Madrid in is the Champions League too, with Barcelona and Real Madrid memorably meeting in the 2010-11 semi-finals.
Messi produced one of his standout goals in the first leg of that tie at the Bernabeu, embarking on a stunning solo run to net his second of that match as Barcelona put one foot in a final that they would go on to win.
Another unforgettable Messi moment against Madrid came in April 2020 when he scored his 500th Barcelona goal in the most dramatic circumstances, tucking home a fine last-minute winner to edge a typically fiercely-fought Clasico 3-2.
Falling to the Argentine's genius was nothing new for Real Madrid by that stage, though, and PSG's number 30 also boasts two career hat-tricks against the Champions League's most successful club.
The first of those came in just his third ever meeting with them, notching all of Barcelona's goals in a thrilling 3-3 draw at Camp Nou during the 2006-07 La Liga season.
Messi surpassed even that achievement when he took the matchball home again during the 2013-14 campaign, scoring three and creating another as Barcelona edged a seven-goal thriller 4-3 at the Bernabeu.
However, while he may have been the scourge of Madrid for the vast majority of his career, the goals did begin to dry up in Clasicos towards the end of Messi's stay at Barcelona.
Indeed, the 34-year-old failed to score in any of his last seven showdowns with Madrid across all competitions, last doing so in the 2017-18 campaign.
Few, if any, players have done more damage to Los Blancos down the years, though, and Messi will look to land another telling blow on his greatest rivals for his new team on Wednesday night. body check tags ::
