Lionel Messi has credited Ronaldinho and other senior Barcelona players with helping him overcome his shyness as a teenager, revealing how their advice eased the pressure of joining a dressing room filled with established football stars.
The Inter Miami forward said he was nervous when he entered Barcelona’s first-team environment at the age of 16, surrounded by players including Ronaldinho, Samuel Eto’o, Xavi and Carles Puyol.
Speaking to students in Oviedo on Thursday ahead of receiving the Princess of Asturias Award for Sports, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner recalled struggling to adapt because of his reserved personality.
“I’m shy, and I found it hard to come out of my shell,” Messi said.
He explained that his senior teammates encouraged him to ignore their reputations and concentrate on enjoying the game.
“What they told me was to forget about everything, forget the context and just enjoy myself and do what I had been doing all my life since I was a kid, without thinking about who was next to me,” he said.
The advice helped Messi settle into Barcelona’s first team, where he went on to become the club’s record goalscorer and win numerous major honours.
Ronaldinho, who played alongside the Argentine during his early years at the club, reportedly recognised his exceptional potential from their first training sessions.
According to Guillem Balague’s book, Messi, the Brazilian contacted journalist Cristina Cubero after training with the youngster and declared, “I’ve just finished training with someone who is going to be better than me.”
Beyond his early experiences at Barcelona, Messi also reflected on the importance of accepting defeat, saying footballers must learn to cope with disappointment in a sport where losses are inevitable.
Drawing on Argentina’s defeat in the 2014 World Cup final and unsuccessful Champions League campaigns, he said players should measure themselves by their commitment and effort rather than results alone.
“You may or may not achieve your goal, but you have to be satisfied knowing that you gave it your all and that you can feel complete beyond the final result,” he said.
Messi added that learning to lose was particularly important because defeats occur more frequently than victories.
“You shouldn’t get used to losing, but you do have to understand that you can lose, and you have to accept it,” he said.
The Argentine has enjoyed a decorated career, winning four Champions League titles and 10 La Liga championships with Barcelona before moving to the United States to play for Inter Miami.
At international level, he led Argentina to the 2021 Copa América title and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, ending the country’s long wait for major international honours.
Discussion0