Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng says that he laughs when he looks back at the moment Lionel Messi's skill caused him to fall over in the first leg of the Champions League semifinal against Barcelona in May.
Speaking exclusively to ESPN FC, the defender was philosophical about one of last season's most famous moments.
"That doesn't really affect me," the 26-year-old said. "I was laughing at myself. When you fall down or slip in a situation and somebody scores a goal, it's normal. These things happen; it happens to me, it happens to other players, I don't care about these things.
"For me, he's the best player in the world. That's football. Sometimes you look bad or something happens. I'm a defender, that doesn't kill me or anything."
Boateng gave a rating of seven out of 10 for Bayern's 2014-15 campaign, in which Pep Guardiola's side won the Bundesliga and reached the semifinals of both the DFB Pokal and Champions League.
In Europe, they were undone by the brilliance of Messi as Barcelona won 3-0 in the first leg en route to a 5-3 aggregate triumph.
"Of course it was a bad loss for us, and we did well for 75 minutes or something, and then against a team like this it's difficult," Boateng said. "Especially the second goal was a great goal from Messi. At the end of the day, you have to continue your hard work, and next season I will try with the team again to win the Champions League. Sometimes you lose, sometimes you win, sometimes you are unlucky, but that's life."
Bayern Munich lost the tie 5-3 on aggregate with Barcelona winning the Champions League eventually.
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