Without a doubt, one of the most legendary partnerships in Barcelona‘s history was that of Lionel Messi and Gerard Piqu. They shared a locker room for 13 years, playing more than 500 games together. They also won 30 titles together and scored 17 goals as a pair.
However, before their success, both spent their formative years at La Masa, and although the defender spent four years at Manchester United starting in 2004, he returned to Bara’s first team in 2008 to continue making history. Now, he recalled what it was like to play with Leo before all the success.
What was it like to play with Messi at La Masia?
Lionel arrived in Barcelona in 2000 and trained at La Masia for four years before making the big leap to the first team, debuting on October 16, 2004. There, he played alongside Piqu, who had been training at the Bara academy since he was 10.
Unaware that the future would be filled with dozens of titles and brimming with hope and love for soccer, Piqu immediately recognized the talent of his Argentine teammate. He described it this way during his appearance on the podcast “The Late Run“:
“I started playing with him when he was 13 and the guy was insane,” he said. “We were winning all the games 15-0, 20-0, and he scored a lot of goals every game,” he revealed, making clear the scoring talent Leo possessed even back then.
However, Gerard also noted that one of the major concerns about him was his height and slender build. Lionel suffered from growth hormone deficiency (GHD), so he had to undergo several treatments, but doubts lingered.
“There was this big question mark about whether he would be able to translate everything he was doing at the academy to first-team football, at the professional level, and that was the big question mark because if he could replicate everything he was doing, he would surely change the history of the game. And he did,” he added.
Fortunately, Messi was able to emerge victorious from this situation as well, winning 35 trophies for the Catalan club, including 10 La Liga titles, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 7 Copa del Rey titles, 4 Champions League titles, 3 UEFA Super Cups, and 3 Club World Cups.
In addition, he sparked one of the most iconic rivalries in sports against Cristiano Ronaldo, another of Piqu’s teammates. However, when it came time to choose between the two, the legendary defender didn’t hesitate to side with his former teammate:
“For me, there’s no doubt. It’s Messi. The level of talent he has-I’ve never seen any other player like that. Ronaldo was a machine, always working out in the gym; he prepared himself like nobody ever did, but in terms of talent, Messi was just insane. So I’ll put Messi over Cristiano. They are the two best players in the history of the game, and I had the chance to be their teammate and win titles with them. But, for me, Messi is better,” Piqu declared.
Meanwhile, while Gerard Piqu officially retired from professional soccer on November 5, 2022, Lionel continues to shine in the MLS with Inter Miami and on the Argentine national team.
Ahead of the biggest soccer tournament to be held in Mexico, the U.S., and Canada from June 11 to July 19, where they will defend their championship title, Leo and the Albiceleste will play two friendly matches leading up to the World Cup. They will face Mauritania and, on the 31st, Zambia, both at La Bombonera Stadium.
Then, with Inter Miami, they will host Austin at Nu Stadium on Saturday the 4th and RB New York on the 11th for MLS action.
