How special was Lionel Messi as a youngster? Barcelona's first team director Charly Rexach was so convinced of his potential that with no other paper at hand, he offered Messi a contract on a paper napkin, despite hesitation from the board of directors.
Barca agreed to a £40,000 annual salary for Messi's father Jorge and an estimated £1,000 a month for hormone growth treatment.
Advert
'Leo' struggled with homesickness at first but soon flourished alongside the likes of Cesc Fabregas and Gerard Pique in La Masia.
The rest is well, history.
But we at SPORTbible like to look back and remember just how bloody good the five-time Balon d'Or winner was as a kid, with this footage from his days with hometown club, Newell's Old Boys, being an incredible example of how talented he was with a ball at his feet.
Advert
Even at such a young age, Messi stands out from the rest in such an effortless way. He just glides across the surface.
Just take a look at the following footage:
Back in May, Barcelona released some never-before-seen footage of Lionel Messi playing for the club's youth side, and it only strengthened his case for being considered the greatest of all time.
Advert
Messi properly burst on the scene in 2004, as the Argentina international made his Barcelona debut against local rivals Espanyol.
Thankfully, Barcelona have since reminded us today of exactly what Messi could do when he was just 16, with footage which the club claims has never seen the light of day... until earlier this year:
Barcelona legend Xavi recalled being "blown away" by a 16-year-old Lionel Messi during his first training session for the Catalan giants.
Advert
In an interview with Spanish publication AS, the former Barca midfielder spoke about the five time Ballon d'Or winner with admiration, going back to a time when he "couldn't believe his eyes" when Messi went one-on-one against Lillian Thuram and Carles Puyol:
They may have been the best defenders in world football at the time, but Xavi claims that the little Argentinian had no fear, taking the pair on in his first session:
"They'd already told me about this kid, I'd been warned that there was this young Argentinean kid coming through who was very good." Xavi said.
"They'd even mentioned his name but I'd forgotten. But then, when I saw him in training aged just 16 I could see exactly what they were on about. There was a training drill we used to do in which players are one-on-one against [Lillian] Thuram, and [Carles] Puyol
Advert
"I saw Messi take on those two and couldn't believe my eyes. I thought: 'Blimey, here this kid who's only 16 years old, dodging past professional defenders, internationals. Even then you could tell that he was different.
"It's obvious that he has an innate talent when he is one-against-one, he's fast, he scores goals, he passes, shoots. He's amazing"
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Football News, Football, Barcelona, Goals, Lionel Messi, La Liga
