Messi is the greatest young talent this generation has ever seen.
At just sixteen years old, Messi made his first official debut when he went on in the 75th minute during a friendly game against José Mourinho‘s Porto in mid-November, 2003. His performance surprised the technical staff, with creating chances and even shots on goal. Because of this, he began training with the club’s reserve side, Barcelona B, as well as the first team.
After a few training sessions, one of the club’s stars, Ronaldinho, told his teammates that he believed the young sensation would soon become a better player than himself. Ronaldinho even went on to befriend Messi and he saw him as a younger brother which made the transition onto the team easier for Messi.
Several minor games later, on Messi’s eighteenth birthday, he was offered a contract as a senior player. Not long after, he had his breakout. In a pre-season game against Juventus, Messi made a statement. As a result of this game, Messi received offers from Juventus as well as an incredible offer from Inter-Milan that would triple his wages. Messi was tempted, but remained loyal to Barcelona and therefore stayed there for the time being.
After earning the legal ability to play in Spain, Messi became dominant in La Liga. Messi was in Barcelona’s starting line as they won game after game after game. Messi’s career was coming along perfectly when Messi’s season came to an early end in early 2006. Messi had torn his hamstring.
Messi was devastated but didn’t let the injury control him. He worked hard to regain fitness and strength in time for the Champions League final in late May, but unfortunately was ruled out on the day of the match. Messi was very disappointed but he still celebrated the win over Arsenal with his team, even though he couldn’t contribute on the field himself.
Unfortunately, Barcelona found itself on a gradual decline, but Messi had other plans. In the 2006-2007 season, the now 19-year-old Messi established himself as one of the greatest in the world.
Messi scored an astonishing 17 goals in 36 matches across all competitions. Messi’s name was becoming among the top names in sports media as he continued his rise to fame. While Messi may have been rising in popularity, Barcelona wasn’t. Barcelona was struggling, finishing the season with no trophies and being eliminated from the Champions League semi-final.
Messi never let his club bring him down though. Messi stayed with Barcelona for more than the next ten years, where he grew into one of the biggest faces in the sports industry and one of the most recognized faces in the entire world.
At Barcelona, Messi won a club record 34 trophies, including ten La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey titles, and the UEFA Champions League four times. He also went on to win the Ballon d’Or seven different years, more than any other player in history.
Messi is arguably the best player Barcelona has ever had, and people still recognize Barcelona as an elite club to this day because of the legacy the young superstar left behind.
