Lionel Messi has revealed how Brazilian great Ronaldinho and other senior Barcelona players helped him overcome his nervousness as a teenager, advising him to ignore the pressure of sharing a dressing room with football stars and focus on enjoying the game.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner said he struggled to settle into Barcelona’s first-team environment at the age of 16 because of his naturally shy personality, despite possessing the talent that would eventually make him one of football’s greatest players.
Speaking to students in Oviedo on Thursday ahead of receiving the Princess of Asturias Award for Sports, the Inter Miami forward recalled how the presence of established stars initially intimidated him.
“I had to walk into a first-division dressing room packed with stars when I was just 16. I was nervous.
“I had people like Ronaldinho, Samuel Eto’o, Xavi, Carlos Puyol and many others around me.
“It was difficult for me because of my personality. I’m shy and I found it hard to come out of my shell,” Messi said, according to GB News on Friday.
Messi said his senior teammates encouraged him to forget their reputations and concentrate on the football he had played since childhood.
“What they told me was to forget about everything, forget the context and just enjoy myself and do what I had been doing all my life since I was a kid, without thinking about who was next to me.
“They told me to do what I loved doing and what I enjoyed,” he said.
The Argentine eventually became Barcelona’s record goalscorer and won numerous major honours during his time at the Spanish club.
Ronaldinho, who was among the established stars when Messi joined the first team, reportedly recognised the teenager’s extraordinary potential from their earliest training sessions.
According to Guillem Balague’s book Messi, the Brazilian telephoned journalist Cristina Cubero after training with the youngster and declared: “I’ve just finished training with someone who is going to be better than me.”
Messi speaks on learning to lose
The Argentine also reflected on the importance of accepting defeat, saying footballers must learn to deal with disappointment because losses are an inevitable part of the sport.
Drawing on painful experiences in major competitions, including Argentina’s defeat in the 2014 World Cup final in Brazil and unsuccessful Champions League campaigns, Messi said players should judge themselves by their effort and commitment rather than results alone.
“You may or may not achieve your goal, but you have to be satisfied knowing that you gave it your all and that you can feel complete beyond the final result,” he said.
“The most important thing is knowing how to lose. Knowing how to win, too, because there are a lot of people who don’t know how to win.
“But knowing how to lose is fundamental in this sport because you lose far more often than you win.
“You shouldn’t get used to losing, but you do have to understand that you can lose, and you have to accept it.”
Messi’s comments come as he continues his career with Inter Miami in the United States, having already won the World Cup with Argentina in Qatar in 2022.
The forward has also enjoyed a decorated international career, ending Argentina’s long wait for a major trophy with victory at the 2021 Copa América before leading the country to its third World Cup title.
His Barcelona career, meanwhile, saw him win four Champions League titles and 10 La Liga championships, alongside numerous individual awards.