Former Barcelona star claims ‘prime’ Ronaldinho admitted a young Lionel Messi was better than him

Former Barcelona ace Maxi Lopez has revealed that Ronaldinho admitted while still at the club that a young Lionel Messi was already the better player. The pair of superstar number 10s played together at the Nou Camp, with Messi coming through the youth ranks with a big reputation.

Lopez spoke about his time at Barcelona on Olga, revealing that Messi’s genius was clear for all to see from the moment he set foot in the first team. He pointed out that Ronaldinho, who had just won the Ballon d’Or, stated clearly to other teammates that the teenage Argentinian was already better than him at the time.

“I could already see that this kid was 16 years old and he could hold his own against 30-year-olds. He had such strength and speed… We older guys were talking about how he was going to be different. Ronnie [Ronaldinho] used to say ‘this guy is better than me.’ Ronaldinho in his ‘prime,’ you know what that was? It was the year he won the Ballon d’Or, and he’d say that to me. Those who are different, they can tell”, he said (via GOAL).

Lionel Messi played alongside Ronaldinho 80 times while the pair were on the books of Barcelona, combining for eight goals. The Argentine’s first goal for the club came after he was intentionally set up by the older superstar, and his celebration was telling, as he jumped on Ronaldinho’s back.

Ronaldinho introduced Messi to basketball icon Kobe Bryant as the next big thing during that period, as well, pointing to the amount of trust he had in Messi’s potential. The Argentina international has lived up to everything he was thought as, going on to become arguably the greatest footballer of all time.

Barcelona star eclipses Lionel Messi’s record

Barcelona midfielder Pedri has overtaken club legend Lionel Messi as the youngest player to reach 200 starts for La Blaugrana. The Spain international made his 200th start for the club in their 2-1 win over Osasuna in LaLiga on Saturday May 2nd.

Pedri was aged 23 years and 159 days old when he lined up in Pamplona, ensuring he reached 200 starts quicker than Messi did. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner was 23 years and 227 days old when he started his 200th game for the club in 2011.

Lionel Messi witnessed the start of Pedri’s Barcelona career, with the Spaniard having played alongside him aged just 18 in the 2020-21 season. He has since gone on to play 242 times for the club, despite a series of battles with injuries.