In his recent article on The Athletic, Ronaldinho shared a story about his intuition 20 years ago regarding Lionel Messi – the footballer who just won his eighth Ballon d’Or award.
In 2006, Barcelona went on a tour to the United States. Ronaldinho was the current holder of the Ballon d’Or, having just helped his club win both the Champions League and La Liga under the management of Frank Rijkaard. During his visit to his close friend Kobe Bryant in the US, Ronaldinho brought along a young boy.
Bryant asked, “Who is this?” and Ronaldinho replied, “Let me introduce you to the person who will become the greatest football player of all time.” Bryant initially thought Ronaldinho was joking and responded, “No, you are the best, not anyone else.” However, Ronaldinho waved his hand and said, “No, this kid here will become the best.” The kid being referred to here is Lionel Messi.
At that time, Messi was playing regularly for Barcelona for over a year and had just returned from the 2006 World Cup with the Argentine national team. However, he was only 19 years old and while many recognized his potential, no one knew exactly how good he was. Only Ronaldinho had that instinct.
“Deco and I, along with our entire team, have been following Leo since he was a young player, watching his matches,” recounted the former Brazilian football legend in an interview with The Athletic. “We always believed that Leo would become the best athlete in the world in this sport.”
Ronaldinho was right. Messi has just set a record with his eighth Ballon d’Or in his career. Ronaldinho played a significant role in this success. They are friends, they are brothers. And to some extent, Ronaldinho has been a mentor to Messi throughout his career. And there’s another thing that few people realize.
When Pep Guardiola took over as the manager of Barcelona in 2008, he ordered the sale of Ronaldinho out of concern that the Brazilian forward would negatively impact the development of Messi. This is a true story, but its impact is wider than just a decision to discipline Ronaldinho. At the time, Ronaldinho was not able to maintain the minimum discipline required of a player. His energy on the field was nonexistent. He often went out at night and his loose lifestyle began to have a faster impact on his performance on the field. Fellow Brazilian Edmilson once called him the “black sheep” in the Barcelona dressing room.
There were more than one black sheep. Upon taking over at Barca, Guardiola made the decision that Ronaldinho, Deco, and Samuel Eto’o had to leave. The first two went to Milan and Chelsea respectively, while Eto’o stayed for another five years before moving to Inter. “This is the time to refresh the dressing room,” Guardiola said on his first day in charge.
In Graham Hunter’s book, “Barca: The Making of the Greatest Team in the World,” there is a passage that talks about how Barcelona realized that a young and passionate Messi couldn’t be led by those older players who were lost – even though they treated Messi well and he looked up to them as idols. But Ronaldinho denies the possibility of leading Messi down a path of partying. “That thought is just ridiculous,” he replied when asked by a reporter from The Athletic.
Even the separation of their paths cannot deny Ronaldinho’s significant role in helping Messi during the early stages of his career. The former Brazilian football star provided Argentina’s rising talent with genuine care and support, fostering a touching friendship between the two during their formative years.
At the age of 16, Messi looked like a child. Ronaldinho’s stories about watching the youth team play turned out to be true. “He’s an alien,” Ludovic Giuly, Messi and Ronaldinho’s former teammate at Barca, told Diario Sport. “He will eventually surpass all of us.”
Accompanying the young team on that day was Henrik Larsson, a former Swedish striker who recently spoke to BBC in a documentary about Messi prior to the 2022 World Cup. “When watching Ronaldinho, I believed I had witnessed the most exceptional player,” said the striker. “Until the day I met Messi.”
During Rijkaard’s time as Barca’s coach, he didn’t know much about Messi. He was curious when several team players and other coaches from the youth team and academy convinced him to include Messi on the first team regularly. He gave Messi his debut against Espanyol in October 2004 when the Argentine player was 17 years old.
While Messi’s feet caused a stir on the field, he remained quiet off the field. The Barca team member recalls two things about Messi during that period: he had exceptional talent but was very reserved in real life, almost silent.
Ronaldinho noticed both. He approached Messi, making the little boy feel at home and less shy. Ronaldinho always made sure Messi sat next to him in the dressing room. He invited Messi to sit at the Brazil table with fellow countrymen at Barca during meals and teased him that Messi was the only Argentine who could eat at that table.
“I debuted in the first team at the age equivalent to Leo’s, so I understood exactly how difficult it was to integrate into a changing room full of older brothers,” Ronaldinho told journalist Hunter. “So to relieve the pressure on Leo, I treated him like a younger brother, and we joked around together as much as possible so that Leo could feel as natural as possible.”
Genius recognizes genius. “At that time, Ronaldinho was the biggest star of the whole team,” Larsson recalled. “Therefore, when Ronaldinho brought Messi into conversations, he felt respected.”
But Ronaldinho’s behavior wasn’t exceptional. When Maxi Lopez joined Barca, he also took the younger player by the side and said, “Whenever you need anything, I’m always here to support you,” Lopez told the BBC. “He did the same thing with Leo. They are humble superstars.”
Messi doesn’t need complicated advice. “The only thing I advised him was to play football with joy and freedom,” Ronaldinho recounted. “Just playing with the ball in his feet, everything good would come.”
Messi tried to follow this. Once he told Hunter: “I tried to copy what Ronaldinho did, but it was simpler. I just tried to be as happy as possible. Look at how he always smiled on the pitch. That’s what I always thought. Playing football brings me joy and happiness and that’s why I’m so attached.”
Gradually, Rijkaard gave Messi more playing time with the first team in the 2004-2005 season. Leo’s first start in the Champions League came against Shakhtar Donetsk, but he was limited in Liga minutes due to various injuries. During a match against Albacete at Camp Nou on May 1, 2005, Messi replaced Eto’o in the 88th minute, and Ronaldinho seemed to use his remaining time on the field to help Messi score a goal.
As the clock ticked to the 90th minute, Ronaldinho passed the ball to Messi, who lifted it over the goalkeeper’s head, driving the crowd wild. However, their celebration was cut short by the linesman’s offside flag. Ronaldinho laughed heartily.
Immediately after, Deco passed the ball down the left flank, and Messi controlled it with his head before tapping it to Ronaldinho. Another pass from the senior player, and this time, Messi delicately chipped the ball over goalkeeper Raul Valbuena’s head, while the linesman’s flag remained down.
Messi ran in one direction to celebrate the goal, then turned back to find his senior teammate. Ronaldinho ran towards him, and Messi jumped onto his back, as if the elder player was introducing his successor to the crowd.
“That was always a special moment for me,” Ronaldinho recalled. “Because that’s when his career started. Being part of this story was an honour. Everything seemed so natural, and I was pleased to see this young boy, my friend, do well and score his first goal.”
Their relationship continued to grow, like that of brothers. Ronaldinho showed Messi how the world of football works. No one was better than Ronaldinho: a talent leading another great footballer. He showed Messi what to expect from the best players on the planet: teammates, opponents, media and fans all watching them.
For Messi, Ronaldinho always used the word “destiny” to describe their relationship. There was no pressure on Ronaldinho to look after Messi and to say, “keep an eye on this kid, he’s going to be great.” Ronaldinho cared for Messi instinctively. They were two opposing personalities. Ronaldinho was outgoing and outside of any restrictions, whereas Messi’s life unfolded within certain boundaries. Falling in love with a girlfriend at the age of 21 and having a child at the age of 25 while remaining faithful until now – the way Messi grew up – was never Ronaldinho’s preferred approach.
Ronaldinho explained that football can bring people closer together. He and Messi spent a lot of time together, traveling, playing games, and becoming like family, enjoying each other’s company and having fun. Messi sat next to him in the locker room, and although Leo is usually reserved, they were able to talk and have a friendly relationship that continues to this day.
It is possible that Messi could have become the greatest player without Ronaldinho, but the Brazilian always played an important role in Messi’s career. When Ronaldinho left Barca, the team belonged to Messi. He took over the position that the older man left behind. Ronaldinho’s mission was complete.
Ronaldinho stated that it was a great honor to see his friends achieve their life goals, and he is truly happy for them.