“I trained once with them, but it was a very low standard” - Aston Villa forward on training with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez at Barcelona
Aston Villa youngster Louie Barry has opened up on training with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez at Barcelona. The youngster spent time with the club's famed La Masia Academy during a six-month stint with the Catalan club five years ago.
The Villa youngster came through English side West Bromwich Albion's academy and his talent alerted LaLiga giants Barcelona. In 2019, he became the first English player to sign for La Masia after Barca signed the promising forward on a three-year contract.
He had to wait three months to start his Barcelona U19 career due to compensation disagreements between the clubs. He, however, made an impressive start to life in Spain, scoring on his first start for the youth team.
However, after six months, he was sent back to England with Aston Villa snapping up the youngster. Although he spent just six months in Catalonia, Barry got to train with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.
Speaking to Sky Sports (via GOAL), Barry mentioned that it wasn't a high-intensity training session, but training with the legendary footballers is a memory he will cherish forever.
"Lionel Messi and Suarez were there, yeah. I trained once with them, but it was a very low standard – it was a set-piece kind of thing. I got called up from the B team. But, 'I’ve trained with Messi', I can say that," he recalled.
Barry is currently on loan at League One club Stockport County from Villa, and has scored an impressive six goals from seven games across competitions.
"They were great with it" - Barry on Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez during his Barcelona stint
A gleeful Barry also shared that although he had to stay professional during the training session, he managed to get a few selfies with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez. He said the two were great with the young lads who were called up for the training session.
"I have got a few photos with them – Suarez, Messi, on my phone. It was just like, 'can I have a photo?' and they say 'yeah'." Barry said in the same interaction.
"Obviously you have to stay professional when you’re in a work mode, but when they are away from it and I’m there looking, they were really good. A lot of the lads asked for photos and they were great with it," he added.
Now 21, Barry's career hasn't taken off as expected. He has had a series of loan spells after signing for Aston Villa. The versatile forward helped Stockport County win the League Two title last season, scoring nine goals and giving four assists in 20 league games.