Lionel Messi wore his favoured No. 10 shirt for the first time at Paris Saint-Germain on Monday night as they took on OGC Nice in the Coupe de France.
It did not end well, though, after the multi-million outfit were sent packing after being beaten on penalties by Christophe Galtier’s side.
And there was further misery for Messi, who tasted defeat in a penalty shootout for the first time in his club career as a result.
Mauricio Pochettino fielded a strong side against Nice - including a front three of Messi, Mauro Icardi and Julian Draxler.
However, they could not find a way to score past Marcin Bulka - ironically on loan from PSG - and the match ended in a 0–0 draw at the Parc des Princes.
Messi stepped up to take the first penalty and scored while ex- Manchester United star Morgan Schneiderlin netted his opener.
Leandro Paredes and Andy Delort missed their kicks to send the two clubs into sudden death with youngster Xavi Simons skewing his effort.
Former Bayern Munich defender Dante made no mistake, though, to send Nice - owned by Britain’s richest man Jim Ratcliffe - through to the next round of the Coupe de France.
That meant Messi was on the losing side for the first time at club level after a penalty shootout, having only been there one other time.
For Argentina, it was the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner that actually missed from the spot to hand Chile victory in the Copa America final in 2016 as the forward broke down into tears.
There was no such reaction from Messi this time, though, as he made history for another reason on Monday night.
It was the first time the 34-year-old wore the No. 10 shirt since arriving at PSG last summer - despite the number being owned by Neymar.
After leaving boyhood club Barcelona in 2021, Messi joined the French giants in a shock transfer and was handed the No. 30 kit.
But he got the chance to don his favoured number due to some different rules that only apply to the Coupe de France.
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The cup competition demands that a more traditional line-up of kits are only allowed from 1 to 25 with the starting XI numbered accordingly.
For example, Gianluigi Donnarumma - who is usually numbered 50 - wore 1, and Messi took this chance to take his preferred No. 10 with Neymar out injured.
It did little for his impact on the game, however, where he was largely blunted in attack as his poor return in front of goal continues.
Remarkably, Messi has scored just once in Ligue 1 this season but has had more joy in the Champions League where he has netted five in five appearances.
