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Former Barcelona forward Bojan Krkic has opened up on his struggles in dealing with comparisons to Lionel Messi.
Over the years, many talented players have been tipped to become the new Messi in the early years of their respective careers. Krkic, who came through Barcelona's youth ranks, had a lot of similarities in his game with the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner.
A product of the esteemed La Masia academy, Bojan started making a name for himself at Barca just after the Argentine ace's emergence.
Quite naturally, the Spaniard became a subject of comparison with Messi and that did not help the attacker.
Krkic became the youngest player ever to make his Barcelona debut aged 17 years and 19 days surpassing Messi. However, he has claimed that he struggled to deal with the comparisons with the now Paris Saint-Germain forward.
The Spaniard, who is currently without a club, has admitted that he eventually had to accept his limitations and set new goals for himself. He told Sport:
“Nobody taught me anything, I had to learn it. I had to compete against what people said about me, that they said I was ‘The new Messi’. At first, I did not understand how I could meet those expectations. Little by little I learned to move away from what people said, I knew my limits, I accepted them and I identified my strengths to set new goals.”
He added:
“You start to become aware of your arrival in the first team when the person you are now becomes a character. You go from being someone anonymous, a kid who comes from his village, to someone everyone knows. Nobody teaches you any of that.”
Krkic made 163 appearances for Barcelona, scoring 41 goals and providing 19 assists. He left the Catalan giants in 2011 and had spells with clubs like Roma, Stoke City, and AC Milan, among others.
Two Barcelona stars ready to stay at Camp Nou if Lionel Messi is signed from PSG
Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba have reportedly expressed their willingness to stay at Barcelona if Lionel Messi returns from Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).
As reported by journalist Gerard Romero, it is a decision made by the players to reduce their salaries to help with the Argentine's return.
The 2022 World Cup-winning forward is in the final year of his contract with PSG, and has reportedly been in discussions with the Parisians to extend his stay.
Reports suggest that the Parisians have offered him an incremental raise to persuade him to stay. However, the Barca icon is yet to commit to staying in Paris beyond the summer.
