Moritz Jenz in Celtic Champions League confession as recruit targets Lionel Messi showdown

Moritz Jenz feared he was facing a nightmare before Christmas when PSG sent out Lionel Messi for some festive frolics last season. The new Hoops defender was expecting the French powerhouses to give their star men the night off against his Lorient side as they prepared to carve the turkeys.

It turned out the former Barcelona legend was the shock name on the team sheet but Jenz managed to hold his own and avoid a stuffing. PSG needed a stoppage-time goal from Mauro Icardi to salvage a point against the mid-table French outfit and the education the defender received that night was better than any present Santa could deliver.

Jenz reckons if he can stick the shackles on Messi and co then he can handle anything that comes his way at Celtic after signing a year-long loan deal with a view to a permanent switch next summer. The 23-year-old former Fulham academy kid said: “I remember that, because the game was before Christmas, I thought ‘they are not going to have all their superstars, it’s going to be okay’.

“But 10 minutes before, they showed the team sheet and they had everyone with them. Then you get excited because these are the people you have been watching since you were small. These are the top guys at the top level. In the warm-up, you just forget. You don’t care who’s next to you, Sergio Ramos or Messi.

“On the football field, we are even. Maybe they have much better qualities, but if you work hard and make it difficult, you have a chance. In the end, you just focus.

“We managed to draw. The away game was a heavy defeat but I was on the bench for that game so I have a good record against PSG! Messi was just fantastic. For me, he’s just the greatest player.

“It’s impossible to man-mark him because he knows exactly