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On This Day In 2008, Lionel Messi Wore The No.10 Shirt For The First Time

On This Day In 2008, Lionel Messi Wore The No.10 Shirt For The First Time

Football was never the same...

Josh Lawless

Josh Lawless

On this day 11 years ago, Lionel Messi inherited the iconic No.10 shirt and Barcelona in what was truly the start of something special.

The Argentine had been fairly impressive wearing the No.19 in 2006/07 and 2007/08, reaching double figures in La Liga in both seasons.

But once his shirt number changed following on from Ronaldinho's departure to AC Milan, Messi reached a whole new gear completely.

He wore #10 for the first time in Blaugrana colours in a pre-season friendly against Scottish outfit Hibernian and has since gone on to notch a breathtaking 561 goals and 220 assists in 577 appearances, as well as winning a record-tying five Ballon d'Ors.

Messi's brilliance with the No.10 on his back has been so out of this world that Ronaldinho, the man whom he inherited it from, thinks Barca should retire it when he finally hangs up his boots.

Image: PA
Image: PA

"When Messi retires, which I hope will be a long time from now, they should leave the No 10 there so that nobody can touch it again." Ronaldinho said via The Daily Mail.

"He is the best in the club's history and has done what no one else could. I hope it stays that way for another 20 years at least. For anyone who loves football, we would like keep him at this level for many more years."

If we're being honest though, it only feels right that football as a whole retires the No.10 because let's face it, nobody could possibly perform better sporting it than that little fella called Leo from Rosario.

Featured Image Credit:

Topics: Football News, Ronaldinho, FC Barcelona, Football, Pep Guardiola, Barcelona, Messi, Lionel Messi