"He had real stardust about him" - Ex-La Masia star David Babunski names Barcelona player he tried to learn from the most
Former Barcelona academy star David Babunski recently opened up about how Andres Iniesta influenced him the most, while the former was at the club. The 30-year-old, who currently represents Dundee United, was at Camp Nou until 2016.
During that period, he rubbed shoulders with some of the game's greats. However, the North Macedonia international did not make a single senior team appearance for the Catalan club.
Opening up about what he learnt from the top players with the Blaugrana at the time, Babunski told Sky Sports:
"When I first came, it was the time Ronaldihno came to Barca, so he was kind of our first idol there."
"I was 12 or 13 years old, and then later on it was players in my position like Andres Iniesta, Thiago Alcantra and Xavi, of course. Those were the players I was looking up to."
He added:
"I extracted different things out of different players. Overall, I would say Andres Iniesta (had real stardust about him). He's maybe the player I tried to learn from the most."
"It's about how they think about the game (that's what separated them from other players). It's about how they understand and interpret the different situations, and the decisions that they would make, accordingly."
Iniesta came up the ranks at Barcelona and eventually left the club in the summer of 2018 at the age of 33. He made 674 appearances across competitions for the Blaugrana, bagging 57 goals and 135 assists. The Spaniard is a nine-time La Liga champion and a four-time UEFA Champions League winner.
What did Lionel Messi achieve in comparison to Iniesta at Barcelona?
Lionel Messi was also extremely successful during his stay in Barcelona between 2000 and 2021. After spending time with the club's youth sides, the Argentine icon went on to play 778 matches across competitions for the Catalan side, bagging 672 goals and 303 assists.
He won the La Liga title on 10 occasions while managing to claim the UEFA Champions League trophy four times, among other honors at Camp Nou. Eventually, Messi departed Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer in the summer of 2021.
With the World Cup winner nearing the end of his professional career, he decided to move to MLS side Inter Miami in the summer of 2023. He's contracted with the Herons until December 2025.