In today’s column on The Athletic, Ronaldinho discussed his prediction 20 years ago regarding Lionel Messi, who recently earned his seventh Golden Ball.

On May 1, 2005, Ronaldinho lifted Messi on his shoulders after the younger scored his first goal of his career against Albacete in La Liga. Photographer: Diario Sport

Barca went on tour in America in the summer of 2006. Ronaldinho currently holds the Golden Ball after helping Barcelona win the Champions League and La Liga under coach Frank Rijkaard. Ronaldinho brought a small youngster with him when he visited his close friend Kobe Bryant in the United States.

“Who is this?” Bryant inquired. He responded: “I introduce you to the man who will become the greatest football player of all time.” Bryant felt Ronaldinho was joking at the moment, so he said, “You are the best, no one else.” “No way,” Ronaldinho said, waving his hand. This youngster is going to be the finest.”

Lionel Messi is the young man referenced here.

Messi had been a fixture for Barcelona’s first squad for over a year at the time, and had just returned from Argentina’s World Cup victory. But he is only 19 years old; many people recognize his talent, but no one can express how good he is. Only Ronaldinho had that gut feeling.

“Me, Deco and the whole team followed Leo from the youth team to watch Leo’s matches,” the former Brazilian player recounted in The Athletic newspaper . “We believed Leo would be the best on the planet at this sport.”

Ronaldinho was correct. Messi has just set a new record with his eighth Golden Ball. Ronaldinho made a significant contribution to this achievement. They are brothers and buddies. Ronaldinho was also Messi’s advisor to some extent during his career. Another item that few people are aware of.

When Pep Guardiola took over as Barcelona coach in 2008, he ordered the sale of Ronaldinho because he was concerned that the Brazilian striker would hinder Messi’s growth. This is an actual tale. However, its significance extends beyond the decision to fire Ronaldinho. That was when Ronaldinho failed to maintain the bare minimum of player discipline. On the practice field, there is no energy. He frequently went out at night, and his extravagant lifestyle began to have an effect on his performance on the field more swiftly. Your Brazilian teammate Edmilson once referred to you as a “black sheep” in the Barcelona locker room.

There are several black sheep. When Guardiola took over at Barcelona, he determined that Ronaldinho, Deco, and Samuel Eto’o had to go. The first two headed to Inter and Milan, respectively, while Eto’o stayed another year before heading to Chelsea. “This is the time to renew the dressing room,” Guardiola declared on his first day in charge.

In the book: “Barca: The Creation of the World’s Greatest Team” by author Graham Hunter, there is a passage: “Barca realized that a young, enthusiastic Messi could not be led by these lost seniors. – people who treat Messi well, and Messi considers them as idols.” But Ronaldinho denied the possibility of putting Messi on the path of entertainment. “That thought is silly,” he replied when asked by a reporter from The Athletic .

And even their separation cannot deny Ronaldinho’s important role in helping Messi at the dawn of his career. The former Brazilian player helped the Argentinian junior in a thoughtful and touching way during the early stages of their friendship.

Messi was encouraged by Ronaldinho and Eto’o after being fouled in the Champions League. Photographer: AFP

Messi was 16 years old and looked like a toddler at the time. Ronaldinho’s stories about going to watch the youth squad play turned out to be true. “He is an alien,” Ludovic Giuly, a former teammate of both of them at Barcelona, told Diario Sport. “Then he’ll get rid of all of us.”

Henrik Larsson was watching the youth squad that day. The former Swedish striker responded to the BBC in a documentary about Messi that aired ahead of the 2022 World Cup. “When I saw Ronaldinho, I thought I had seen the most outstanding player,” the Swedish striker continued. “Until that day I met Messi.”

Rijkaard, Barcelona’s coach at the time, was unfamiliar with Messi. He was intrigued when many first-team players, as well as coaches from the young squad and academy, persuaded him to allow Messi to play regularly for the first team. Messi made his debut against Espanyol in October 2004, when the Argentine was 17 years old.

While his feet create a lot of noise on the field, Messi is very quiet off it. People on the Barcelona team remember Messi for two things: he definitely had exceptional talent, but in real life, he said very little, if at all.

Ronaldinho was aware of both. He approached Messi, making him feel more at ease and less shy. Ronaldinho always made sure Messi was sitting next to him in the locker room. He encouraged Messi to sit at his Brazilian teammates’ table at Barca during dinners, suggesting that Messi is the only Argentine who can eat at this table.

“I debuted for the first team at the same age as Leo, so I understand exactly how difficult it is to integrate into a dressing room full of older men,” Ronaldinho told reporter Hunter. “So to take the pressure off of Leo, I treat him like a younger brother, and we try to joke around so that Leo is as natural as possible.”

Genius recognizes genius. “At that time, Ronaldinho was the biggest star in the team,” Larsson recalled. “So when Ronaldinho pulled him into conversations, Messi felt he was respected.”

But Ronaldinho is no exception to this behavior. When Maxi Lopez first joined Barca, he also pulled his junior to a separate corner and said: “Whenever you need anything, I will always support you,” Lopez told BBC . “He did the exact same thing with Leo. They are humble superstars.”

Messi doesn’t need complicated advice. “The only thing I advised him: Play football with joy and freedom,” Ronaldinho recalled. “Just play with the ball at your feet, good things will come.”

Messi tries to follow this. He once told Hunter: “I try to copy what Ronaldinho does, but it’s simpler, I just try to have the most fun. Look at the way he always smiles on the football field, that’s also what I always care about.” “Playing soccer brings joy and happiness to me, and that’s why I stick with it.”

Ronaldinho and Messi in a training session with Barca. Photo: Times

Gradually, Rijkaard let Messi play for the first team more in the 2004-2005 season. Leo’s first start in the Champions League came against Shakhtar Donetsk, but his minutes in Liga were limited because he suffered many injuries. When Barca hosted Albacete at Camp Nou on May 1, 2005, Messi replaced Eto’o from the 88th minute, and Ronaldinho seemed to spend the remaining time on the field trying to help Messi score.

As the clock ticked to the 90th minute, Ronaldinho pressed the ball for Messi to lift over the goalkeeper’s head, making the crowd go crazy. But their goal celebration was soon cut short, because the linesman raised the offside flag. Ronaldinho grinned.

Immediately after that, Deco passed the ball along the left wing, Messi controlled it with his head and hit Ronaldinho. Another pass from the senior. This time Messi gently pressed the ball over goalkeeper Raul Valbuena’s head, and the linesman’s flag was no longer raised.

Messi tried to run away to celebrate the goal in another direction, but then turned back to look for his senior. Ronaldinho came running. Messi jumped on his back, as if the predecessor introduced his successor to the crowd.

“That was always a special moment for me,” Ronaldinho recalled. “Because that’s when his career took off. Being involved in this story is an honor. Everything seemed so natural, and I was pleased to see what this young man, my friend, did well and scored the first goal”.

Their relationship is getting better and better, like brothers. Ronaldinho showed Messi how the world works. There is no one better than Ronaldinho: a trailblazing talent mentoring the next great football talent. He showed Messi what awaits the best player on the planet: teammates, opponents, media and fans are all looking at them.

As for Messi, Ronaldinho always uses the word “fate” to talk about their relationship. There was no pressure on Ronaldinho and asking him to “keep an eye on this kid, he will be very good when he grows up”. Ronaldinho protected Messi completely instinctively. They are two opposite personalities. Ronaldinho is extroverted and outside the box, where Messi’s life takes place. Loving a girlfriend since he was 21, then having a 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 at 25 and remaining faithful until now – the way Messi grew up – was never Ronaldinho’s favorite way.

Ronaldinho hugged Messi intimately when the two met again before PSG’s match against RB Leipzig in the Champions League in October 2021. Photo: Instagram / ronaldinho

“But football can help us get closer to each other,” Ronaldinho explained. “We spent a lot of time together, traveling, playing games and becoming each other’s family, enjoying and playing together. He sat next to me in the dressing room. Leo has always been very reserved but we We can talk to each other, be close and have fun until today.”

Would Messi have become the greatest player without Ronaldinho? Maybe. But Ronaldinho has always been the most important influence on the dawn of Messi’s career. When Ronaldinho left Barca, the team belonged to Messi. The boy took over the position left by a man. Ronaldinho’s mission ended.

“It’s an honor to witness the friends around you achieving your life goals,” Ronaldinho said. “It really makes me happy.”