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Topics: Barcelona, La Liga, Lionel Messi, Quizzes, Football Quiz
Ryan Smart
Topics: Barcelona, La Liga, Lionel Messi, Quizzes, Football Quiz
At 18 years of age, Lionel Messi made his first La Liga start for Barcelona against Osasuna.
And now, 18 years later, he may be on the verge of a sensational return to Camp Nou.
But as the world waits to see the Argentina legend's next move - which is surely not in Paris, after he was booed by PSG fans during their home defeat to Lyon - thoughts turn to where it all began in the Catalan capital.
We've created a special quiz which will test your knowledge - and memory - of when Messi was no more than an emerging talent on the world stage.
His first start for Barcelona was a long time coming, especially as he had made his league debut over a year earlier, against rivals Espanyol.
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There was to be no goal for Messi that day, but Camp Nou got their first glimpse of a future footballing icon playing his first full match for Barcelona.
Back then, journalists, players, managers tipped the teenage Messi to be a future great. There were, of course, the comparisons to Diego Maradona.
On October 22, 2005, he took the next step of his journey to football stardom. The silky dribbling, the gliding across the pitch, the movement - three elements that have made Messi so incredibly good - were all on show. He even hit the crossbar with a bullet header in the first half.
Looking forward to the now 35-year-old's potential return to Barca, we are looking back at the forward’s first start at the club, and have compiled a special SPORTbible quiz to test your knowledge of that day.
Can you name each player that was named in the starting XI by Barca boss Frank Rijkaard?
We're looking for surnames only - and Messi is already provided of course.