Thiago Messi, son of arguably the greatest football player of all time Lionel Messi, has shared his thoughts on his father’s storied career and offered an insight into his own ambitions.
Born in November 2012, Thiago grew up watching his dad win it all for club and country, including five of his ten La Liga titles with Barcelona, five of his eight Ballon d’Or awards and, of course, the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
And Thiago hopes to follow in his father’s footsteps, as the 12-year-old recently featured in the LaLiga FC Futures tournament, a competition made up of 20 U12 teams from around the world.
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Alongside Benjamin Suarez, son of legendary striker Luis Suarez, Thiago represented Inter Miami, but the youth team were knocked out of the tournament by Barcelona.
And, speaking in an interview with José Ramón de la Morena, the 12-year-old discussed his future aspirations as a footballer.
"Playing makes me more nervous than watching my father play," Thiago admitted
"I'm not good with my left foot.”
Despite losing to them in the LaLiga FC Futures tournament, Thiago admitted that he would love to return to Barcelona, where his father played for 14 years.
And should he make it in the Barcelona team, there is one current player that he hopes to play alongside.
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“One day I would like to play with Lamine Yamal,” he confessed.
Yamal, 16, established himself at Barcelona in the 2023/24 season, as the winger scored seven goals and assisted ten in 50 appearances.
The youngster also spoke about which national team he would choose to represent should he be called up in the future.
Thiago is of course eligible to play for his father’s home country Argentina but, having been born in Barcelona, he would also be able to represent Spain if he wanted to.
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But, this is not something that Thiago is considering, as he would prefer to continue his father’s legacy with the Argentinian national team.
He said: “I want to play with the Argentine team, and I don’t think there is any way the Spanish team can convince me.”
As he reflected on his father’s career, Thiago revealed which of Messi’s 837 goals is his personal favourite.
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He added: “My father’s most beautiful goal was the header against Manchester United in the Champions League final.”
Messi himself revealed last year that this goal, scored as Barcelona defeated Manchester United 2-0 in the 2009 Champions League final, was also his personal favourite.
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Topics: Lionel Messi, Barcelona, La Liga, Football, Argentina, Inter Miami, Lamine Yamal
Ben McCrum