In today’s column on The Athletic, Ronaldinho discussed his prediction 20 years ago regarding Lionel Messi, who recently earned his seventh Golden Ball.

On May 1, 2005, Ronaldinho lifted Messi on his shoulders after the younger scored his first goal of his career against Albacete in La Liga. Photographer: Diario Sport

On May 1, 2005, Ronaldinho lifted Messi on his shoulders after the younger scored his first goal of his career against Albacete in La Liga. Photographer: Diario Sport

Barca went on tour in America in the summer of 2006. Ronaldinho currently holds the Golden Ball after helping Barcelona win the Champions League and La Liga under coach Frank Rijkaard. Ronaldinho brought a small youngster with him when he visited his close friend Kobe Bryant in the United States.

“Who is this?” Bryant inquired. He responded: “I introduce you to the man who will become the greatest football player of all time.” Bryant felt Ronaldinho was joking at the moment, so he said, “You are the best, no one else.” “No way,” Ronaldinho said, waving his hand. This youngster is going to be the finest.”

Lionel Messi is the young man referenced here.

Messi had been a fixture for Barcelona’s first squad for over a year at the time, and had just returned from Argentina’s World Cup victory. But he is only 19 years old; many people recognize his talent, but no one can express how good he is. Only Ronaldinho had that gut feeling.

“Me, Deco and the whole team followed Leo from the youth team to watch Leo’s matches,” the former Brazilian player recounted in The Athletic newspaper. “We believed Leo would be the best on the planet at this sport.”

Ronaldinho was correct. Messi has just set a new record with his eighth Golden Ball. Ronaldinho made a significant contribution to this achievement. They are brothers and buddies. Ronaldinho was also Messi’s advisor to some extent during his career. Another item that few people are aware of.

When Pep Guardiola took over as Barcelona coach in 2008, he ordered the sale of Ronaldinho because he was concerned that the Brazilian striker would hinder Messi’s growth. This is an actual tale. However, its significance extends beyond the decision to fire Ronaldinho. That was when Ronaldinho failed to maintain the minimum discipline of a player. On the practice field, there is no energy. He frequently went out at night, and his extravagant lifestyle began to have an effect on his performance on the field more swiftly. Your Brazilian teammate Edmilson once referred to you as a “black sheep” in the Barcelona locker room.

There is more than one black sheep. Taking over Barca, Guardiola decided that Ronaldinho, Deco, and Samuel Eto’o had to leave. The first two went to Milan and Chelsea respectively, while Eto’o stayed another year and then went to Inter. “This is the time to renew the dressing room,” Guardiola said on his first day in office.

In the book: “Barca: The Creation of the World’s Greatest Team” by author Graham Hunter, there is a passage: “Barca realized that a young, enthusiastic Messi could not be led by these lost seniors. – people who treat Messi well, and Messi considers them as idols.” But Ronaldinho denied the possibility of putting Messi on the path of entertainment. “That thought is silly,” he replied when asked by a reporter from The Athletic.

And even their separation cannot deny Ronaldinho’s important role in helping Messi at the dawn of his career. The former Brazilian player helped the Argentinian junior in a thoughtful and touching way during the early stages of their friendship.

Ronaldinho and Etoo encouraged Messi after a situation where the junior was fouled in the Champions League. Photo: AFP

Ronaldinho and Eto’o encouraged Messi after a situation where the junior was fouled in the Champions League. Photo: AFP

Messi was 16 years old at that time, looking like a child. The trips to watch the youth team play that Ronaldinho recounted turned out to be accurate. “He is an alien,” Ludovic Giuly, a teammate of both at Barca back then, replied to Diario Sport. “Then he’ll get rid of all of us.”

Henrik Larsson was watching the youth squad that day. The former Swedish striker responded to the BBC in a documentary about Messi that aired ahead of the 2022 World Cup. “When I saw Ronaldinho, I thought I had seen the most outstanding player,” the Swedish striker continued. “Until that day I met Messi.”

Rijkaard, Barcelona’s coach at the time, was unfamiliar with Messi. He was intrigued when many first-team players, as well as coaches from the young squad and academy, persuaded him to allow Messi to play regularly for the first team. Messi made his debut against Espanyol in October 2004, when the Argentine was 17 years old.

While his feet create a lot of noise on the field, Messi is very quiet off it. People on the Barcelona team remember Messi for two things: he definitely had exceptional talent, but in real life, he said very little, if at all.

Ronaldinho was aware of both. He approached Messi, making him feel more at ease and less shy. Ronaldinho always made sure Messi was sitting next to him in the locker room. During dinners, he encouraged Messi to sit at the Brazilian table of his compatriots at Barcelona and joked, “Messi is the only Argentine.”