“In the first year, he didn’t win anything but people fell in love with him. It was a bad time and the change that came about with his arrival was amazing.”
Messi idolised his more senior Brazilian team-mate, later saying: “Ronaldinho was responsible for the change in Barca. He made his senior competitive debut as a 17-year-old in 2004. He also won the Ballon d’Or for his personal collection in 2005.Īround that time, Messi was emerging into the first-team picture at Barca. Ronaldinho’s skill and inventiveness mesmerised Catalan crowds and he helped Barcelona to two La Liga titles, two Supercopas and the Champions League. The Brazil international arrived at Camp Nou from Paris Saint-Germain in 2003 and, at his peak, was doubtless the best player on the planet. When Lionel Messi was learning his trade in Barcelona’s La Masia academy, Ronaldinho was the first team’s star attraction and the most entertaining player in the world. Lionel Messi was always destined for GOATdom, but it certainly helped him to have football grandmasters like Ronaldinho to learn from in his formative years at Barcelona, as brilliant footage of the Brazilian teaching a teenage Messi how to do a rabona-elastico skill shows.
