Credit: Twitter
After Real Madrid (14), AC Milan (7), Bayern Munich (6), and Liverpool (6), Spanish giants Barcelona are among the top five European clubs to win the most UEFA Champions League titles as they have won five titles. Barcelona won the UCL titles in 1992, 2006, 2009, 2011, and 2015 and their former star Lionel Messi has been part of the club's senior team since 2004, making him a four-time UCL champion, however, the UEFA doesn't consider the same for the 35-year-old Argentine.
Lionel Messi played a pivotal role in Barcelona's UCL victories in 2009, 2011, and 2015, however, the UEFA recently declared that Messi has won only three UCL titles as he was not part of the Catalan giants' squad in the 2006 UCL final. This statement by the UEFA has drawn the attention of many football fans as some have shown their disbelief while others admitted the fact.
The official website of the UEFA Champions League stated, "Messi has won the Champions League three times – in 2009, 2011, and 2015 (all with Barcelona). He was also a regular for the Spanish club when they won the trophy in 2006 but was not part of their squad for the final."
Barcelona and Lionel Messi last reached the UCL semifinals in the 2018-19 season and the Argentine wizard left his boyhood club in 2021 when FCB were knocked out by PSG in the Round of 16. In August 2021, Messi joined PSG and played two UCL seasons with the French club and were knocked out of the competition in the Round of 16 stages in both seasons, making it his three consecutive UCL Round of 16 eliminations.