In the summer of 2006, Ronaldinho, who had just won the Golden Ball after Barca won the Champions League and La Liga, was assigned to teach Messi, whom he flattered that he “knew immediately would be the best in the world even though he was only 17 years old”. after this player won the 8th Golden Ball in his career.

At that time, Messi had been a regular starter in the Barca squad for about a year and had just returned from the World Cup with Argentina. But he just turned 19. Not many people know how good he is, except Ronaldinho. “Deco and I have followed Leo since we were in the youth team, going to watch his matches. We told each other that this guy will definitely be the best player in the world,” Ronaldinho told an American newspaper the day after Messi’s event.

Let’s see how right former prisoner Ronaldinho was when Messi set a record for winning his 8th Golden Ball last Monday night. Obviously, these two players of two generations have an overlapping relationship: brotherly, leader, and even non-symbiotic. The popular story is that Ronaldinho was sold by Barcelona when Pep Guardiola took over as coach in 2008 because he was considered a bad influence on Messi. That’s true to some extent, but the bigger motive behind Ronaldinho’s departure was about his impact on the Barca dressing room.

At that time, Ronaldinho’s professionalism almost disappeared: his playing spirit declined, he did not practice according to the lesson plan. It also happened to many Barca players at the end of the Rijkaard era. Nights out became more frequent and began to take a toll. When Guardiola became coach, he decided to “behead” Ronaldinho, Deco and Samuel Eto’o. The first two went to AC Milan and Chelsea, while Eto’o stayed for a year before moving to Inter Milan. “It’s time to renew this dressing room,” Guardiola said on his first day in charge.

Without Ronaldinho there would be no Messi 8 golden balls

For his part, Ronaldinho opposed the idea that he would lead young player Messi astray. “That makes no sense,” he said. And even if that is true, it does not obscure Ronaldinho’s important role in the early days of Messi’s career: helping Messi develop from potential to fully formed genius. Messi is only 16 years old but looks even younger when he is trained with the first team. Rijkaard was initially cautious with Messi, but in Ronaldinho’s opinion, he promoted Messi to the first team more often. He made his competitive debut against Espanyol in October 2004, at the age of 17.

But at that time, Messi was timid and depressed. Ronaldinho realized that. He tried to approach Messi, making the boy feel safer among a group of established stars. Messi sits next to Ronaldinho in the dressing room and at the dining table. Ronaldinho did this partly because he knew how good Messi was and would be. Genius recognizes genius. Henrik Larsson said: “At that time, Ronaldinho was the boss in the dressing room. Leo has seen what it takes to be a protagonist.”

Without Ronaldinho there would be no Messi 8 golden balls

Messi shared that he tried to copy the little things that Ronaldinho did to play football with joy. Rijkaard brought Messi to the first team in the 2004/05 season. His first start was against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League, but after that, he mostly came on as a late-match substitute. In the match against Albacete at Camp Nou on May 1, Messi replaced Eto’o in the 88th minute, and Ronaldinho seemed to spend the remaining time helping his junior score. Just before the 90-minute mark, Ronaldinho passed the ball to Messi, who poked the goalkeeper and Camp Nou went crazy.

But their celebration was ruined because of the linesman’s offside flag. Immediately after that, Deco passed the ball on the left wing. Messi immediately bounced the ball with Ronaldinho and then gently lifted the ball past goalkeeper Raul Valbuena. This time, the goal was recognized. Messi ran like crazy to celebrate but then turned back to look for his brother. Ronaldinho ran forward and Messi jumped on his back like a child meeting his father. It was a beautiful moment. Ronaldinho said: “I remember this special moment very much, because it was the starting point of a great career. I’m honored to be a part of it.”

Without Ronaldinho there would be no Messi 8 golden balls

However, the life paths of these two geniuses went in different directions. Ronaldinho only has 1 Ballon d’Or, while Messi has 8 Ballon d’Or, as well as more Champions League and La Liga titles. Their personalities are also very different. Ronaldinho was a free-spirited, extroverted scoundrel with a tendency to rebel, like to party and live a lustful life. Messi is a quiet, reserved, introverted, family-oriented man. He has known no one except his wife Antonela since he was 21 years old and had his first child at the age of 25.

Would Messi have become the greatest player in the world without Ronaldinho’s guiding hand? Maybe. But it is clear that this was one of the most important and formative relationships in Messi’s early days. By the time Ronaldinho left, Barcelona was Messi’s team. The boy had become a man, and in that respect, Ronaldinho’s work was complete. Ronaldinho said: “It’s nice to see him achieve his dream. That really makes me happy.”