Where are they now? The Barcelona B XI from Messi’s last game in 2005

Lionel Messi made his first-team debut for Barcelona in a 1-0 win over Espanyol in October 2004. The rest, as they say, is history.

But he remained a part of the Barcelona B team throughout the 2004-05 season, making his final appearance for them in a 4-0 win over Osasuna B in May 2005.

So what happened to Messi’s team-mates from that game? We’ve taken a look to see how they’ve all fared over the last 16 years. 

After loan spells at Gimnastic, Almeria and Badalona, Ruiz left Barcelona in 2006 and joined Sant Andreu in the third tier of Spanish football. 

The goalkeeper moved back to Barcelona with Espanyol in January 2008 but didn’t make a single first-team appearance during his two-and-a-half years at the club. He then returned to the lower divisions before hanging up his gloves at the age of 32 in 2012.

Since retirement, Ruiz has become a goalkeeping coach and is currently working with Belgian side KAS Eupen.

Fernandez trained with the first team and played in friendlies under Frank Rijkaard, but never made a competitive appearance for the club. 

The defender followed Jordi Cruyff to Ukrainian side Metalurh Donetsk in the summer of 2006 but struggled to adjust to life in the country. 

He later enjoyed spells in the Netherlands, Belgium and Greece before returning to Spain with CE L’Hospitalet. The 39-year-old saw out his playing career with the Catalan side, announcing his retirement in 2019.

The oldest member of this team, Mora spent just one season in Barcelona’s academy and then returned to former club Castellon in 2005.

He never played in the top flight but carved out a decent career in the La Liga 2, representing the likes of Recreativo de Huelva, Hercules and Alaves.

Mora retired in 2018, seeing out the last of