Lionel Messi has been among the world’s best footballers for so long that players’ entire careers have came and went during his Barcelona stint.
It must be weird to look up to a player when you’re still a kid dreaming of playing football, then turn pro and find out, several years into your career, that he’s still better than you.
Here’s a selection of genuinely great footballers talking about how they idolised Messi. Maybe one day we’ll be treated to a player even better than him.
Isco
“I named my dog ‘Messi’ because Messi is the best in the world, and so is my dog,” Isco told Goal in 2013.
Frenkie de Jong
In an interview shortly before his move to Camp Nou, De Jong said that Messi was the reason he chose Barcelona as his next destination, saying:
“Messi is one of the reasons why I moved to Barcelona. Messi has been the best in the world for 15 years. He was the best when I was a 12-year-old.”
And, when appearing on Dutch TV show Veronica Inside in 2019, De Jong said: “I have admired Messi since my childhood.
“It’s special to be on the pitch with him. Sometimes he does a few things…and then you also enjoy yourself on the pitch.”
Julian Alvarez
“Messi has been my idol since I was a child,” Alvarez told Manchester City’s official website in 2022. “He is my family’s idol, the idol of my brothers too.
“Messi is a hero for me. Playing for my country is a dream come true. I dreamed as a child to play in the national team with Messi. To have achieved this at the age of 22 obviously makes me feel very proud, happy, and I have to keep going for more success.”
Alphonso Davies
Messi is Davies’ footballing idol and, before the Champions League quarter-final between Bayern Munich and Barcelona in 2020, he spoke about his disbelief about his dream coming true.
Speaking to UEFA at the time, Davies said: “My mum called me yesterday and then my dad hopped on the phone, and he was like: ‘So you’re playing against your favourite player, I see.’
“And I went: ‘Yeah.’ And then we both started laughing on the phone. And, honestly, we couldn’t even believe it because he knows that I looked up to Messi when I was younger, and now playing against him, it’s really nice.”
Christian Pulisic
“Nothing against Ronaldo because I’ve seen it first hand, he’s an unbelievable player,” Pulisic told ESPN in 2018 when asked whether Cristiano Ronaldo was better than Messi.
“It’s not an easy one [who is…
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