Lionel Messi has been among the world’s best footballers for so long that players’ entire careers have came and went during his Barcelona stint. It must be weird to look up to a player when you’re still a kid dreaming of playing football, then turn pro and find out, several years into your career, that he’s still better than you.
Here’s a selection of genuinely great footballers talking about how they idolised Messi. Maybe one day we’ll be treated to a player even better than him. “I named my dog ‘Messi’ because Messi is the best in the world, and so is my dog,” Isco told Goal in 2013.
In an interview shortly before his move to Camp Nou, De Jong said that Messi was the reason he chose Barcelona as his next destination, saying: “Messi is one of the reasons why I moved to Barcelona.
Messi has been the best in the world for 15 years. He was the best when I was a 12-year-old.” And, when appearing on Dutch TV show Veronica Inside in 2019, De Jong said: “I have admired Messi since my childhood. “It’s special to be on the pitch with him.