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What Lionel Messi's Dad Told Thiago Motta During His First Day At Barcelona

What Lionel Messi's Dad Told Thiago Motta During His First Day At Barcelona

The ex-Barcelona midfielder has revealed a brilliant story involving Messi.

Nasir Jabbar

Nasir Jabbar

Lionel Messi's old man came to his defence after he was on the wrong end of some rough house tactics courtesy of Thiago Motta.

The towering midfielder began his professional trade at Barcelona which coincided with the introduction of Messi, who broke into the first team after graduating from Barcelona's famed La Masia academy.

Motta made a name for himself as a robust, combative, central midfielder.

And Messi found that out pretty quick. Like, his first day at Barcelona.

"The first day of training, I went in hard on him and his dad came over to tell me off and say that I had been too strong," Motta told Gazzetta Dello Sport via SPORT.

"To be honest, it was the only way to stop him," he said about how to deal with Messi.

Messi in training. Image: PA
Messi in training. Image: PA
Messi's early days at Barcelona. Image: PA
Messi's early days at Barcelona. Image: PA

As well as playing alongside Messi, Motta also remembers a young Andres Iniesta. And he immediately knew the Spaniard was a special, special talent.

Not to mention recalling former boss Louis van Gaal's interesting training ground philosophies.

"If you didn't have your shirt tucked into your shorts, he [Van Gaal] wouldn't let you train.

"That year Iniesta came up to the first team, you could already see when he was 14 that he was phenomenal. He didn't fear anyone."

Messi and Motta in action. Image: PA
Messi and Motta in action. Image: PA
Motta fouls Messi. Image: PA
Motta fouls Messi. Image: PA

In 2007, Motta ended his association with Barcelona.

He's called Paris home since, signing with Paris Saint-Germain and remains unable to contain Messi when the two teams have met.

Who could forget Barcelona's epic comeback against the French outfit in 2017?!

Featured Image Credit:

Topics: Football News, Football, Barcelona, Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta

Nasir Jabbar is a journalist at SPORTbible. He graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA in Media Communications. He's a combat sport aficionado, and has contributed to MMA websites AddictedMMA and CagePotato. Nasir has covered some of the biggest fights, while interviewing the likes of Conor McGregor, Michael Bisping and Anthony Joshua. He's also an avid Bristol City fan.

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