“For how he helped me” - Lionel Messi names 2 people at Barcelona who left a huge impact on him
Lionel Messi has named Pep Guardiola and Ronaldinho as the ones who had a huge impact on him at Barcelona. The Argentine superstar said they helped him grow at the club and that he would not be the player he is without them.
Speaking to Mundo Deportivo, Messi said Guardiola was one of the key reasons for his success at Barcelona. He said (via GOAL):
"There are two people at Barcelona who’ve made a huge impact on me. The first one was Pep Guardiola, because we achieved incredible things together — and Ronaldinho, for how he helped me."
It is not the first time he hailed the manager. In 2023, the Argentine legend had labeled the Manchester City coach as the 'best' in the world.
"I'm still in contact with [Guardiola]. Winning the Champions League this time shows that he is the best coach in the world, he deserved to win the Champions League," he added
Lionel Messi played 80 matches with Ronaldinho and the duo combined for nine goals. The Brazil icon assisted the first-ever goal scored by the Inter Miami star for the Catalan side.
Lionel Messi's message to Barcelona on 125th anniversary
Lionel Messi spoke to 3Cat last month and sent a message to Barcelona who celebrated their 125th anniversary. He said it was 'great pride' for him to be a part of the club's history.
"I congratulate the club on its 125th anniversary. It is a great pride for me to be part of this club and to be a fan of Barcelona. It’s a special club, different from the others, with all the difficulties that this imposes because of the way things are managed in football today. I was lucky that God led me to this place [Barcelona] and I spent my whole life in this wonderful club," he said.
"Representing the Barcelona first team as we love and want is a great pride for me. I miss the club, the city, the people and all that love. As always, I hope we can continue to succeed and make this club bigger and better. I miss the club, the city, the people and all the love. As always, I hope we can continue to succeed and make this club even greater," Messi added.
Lionel Messi played 778 matches for Barcelona and scored 672 times for the Catalan club, along with 303 assists. He played 219 of those games under Pep Guardiola and scored 211 goals while assisting 94 times.