Lionel Messi is arguably the greatest footballer of all time.

The legendary attacker has won it all over the course of his career, and he came close to adding a second World Cup to his tally after Argentina reached the final in the summer.

However, Spain ended up beating Messi’s side in the end, and that came at a temporary personal cost to one Arsenal player: Mikel Merino. But he doesn’t care now.

Mikel Merino says Lionel Messi’s shot made him ‘blind in one eye’ during the World Cup final

Lionel Messi is often hailed for his magical left foot that’s full of elegance and praise, but it packs serious power as well.

The Argentine has scored many goals from distance in his career, and not all of them are curled finishes that are easy on the eye. Some of them have been absolute thunderbolts.

Late in the World Cup final, after Spain had taken the lead and were heading for glory, Messi found himself in a shooting position just outside the box.

Just as the Inter Miami star was about to unleash his strike, Merino stepped up for his country and put his body on the line to protect their lead.

Messi’s strike hit the Arsenal man flush in the face, and Merino has now revealed that he played the rest of that game without being able to see anything with one eye.

He wrote in The Players’ Tribune: “At one point, Messi lined up to shoot just outside the box, and I was like: ‘No, not him.’ I moved forward to close him down, one metre away. He hit it hard.

“BANG. Right in my face. I went down like I’d been shot, which I had. I got hit so hard that I was actually blind in one eye for the rest of the match.”

Spain went on to win the game and thus the World Cup, and Merino was over the moon. His injured eye recovered fairly quickly, and he has been fully fit since.