France 2018 World Cup winning star Adil Rami has explained why it is now easier to defend against Lionel Messi.

According to Marca, Rami has never been on the winning side in his 12 meetings against Messi.

He has surprisingly revealed that he believes it is “easier” for defenders to face Messi these days than it was a few years back.

“Granted, I never won, but there were draws and [chuckling] I got four or five shirts from him,” Rami told Ligue 1’s official website.

“He was too strong, back then he was always behind my back. He’d be offside and then he would move back to touch the halfway line and then go again.

“Now he’s more of a passer, so it’s easier for defenders as we can wait.

“I don’t think he’s able to do his slalom moves so much.”