Many consider Lionel Messi as the best player ever to grace the football pitch. The Argentine magician boasts the most number of Ballon d’Or trophies in the history of football. Even the biggest critic of the Barcelona talisman will have to admit that Messi is one of the most talented players football has ever seen.
The Argentine has been a one-club man having joined Barcelona’s youth academy in 2001 at a very young age and made his debut for the Blaugrana in 2003 when he was just 16 years, four months, and 23 days old. Since then, he has created record after record and is still going strong.
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Since making his debut Messi has been at the heart of everything Barcelona achieved. The Argentine superstar has won 8 La Liga titles, 4 Champions League medals and numerous other trophies as well as winning a plethora of individual records.
During his career, Messi has played with a host of world-class players like Ronaldinho, Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol, Suarez, and Neymar.
However, there are some players who have shared the pitch with the Argentine superstar who will surprise you.
#1 Maxi Lopez
Argentine forward Maxi Lopez, who now plays for Serie A side Torino, has the experience of playing alongside his countryman Lionel Messi. The two never teamed up for the Argentine national team but played alongside each other at Barcelona, however, for not a long period.
Lopez joined Barcelona from River Plate in 2005 and left the club in 2007 and could never live up to the expectations at Camp Nou.
He played just 19 games for the Catalan giants in two years and scored just one goal, and set up three for his teammates. When Lopez was at Camp Nou, Messi was a bright young player with plenty of potential and was slowly making it to the first-team.
#2 Lilian Thuram
One of the best defenders France have ever produced, Lilian Thuram also played alongside Messi at the dusk of his illustrious career. The Frenchman, who won the Word Cup and Euros with France, was at Barcelona during the last two years of his playing career and during that time, just as Messi started dominating the world of football.
Thuram, a versatile defender who could play either centre-back or right-back, played just 58 games for Barcelona when Frank Rijkaard was the manager of the Catalans. The 2006-07 season saw Messi become a regular in the starting XI, and was showing glimpses of becoming the legend he is today.
#3 Mark van Bommel
Former Dutch midfielder Mark van Bommel was at Barcelona for just one season and many would be surprised to hear that Messi shared the pitch with the former Bayern Munich star.
van Bommel joined Barcelona from PSV Eindhoven in 2005 and lasted for just one season at Camp Nou before making his move to Bayern Munich in 2006.
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The 2005-06 season was the only season van Bommel was at Barca and he was more of a regular while Messi was a youngster who was brought in as a substitute in most games. That season was a successful season for the team as the Catalans won the Champions League and the La Liga.
#4 Giovanni van Bronckhorst
Another Dutch legend makes this list. Giovanni van Bronckhorst spent as many as four years at Barcelona, one on loan from Arsenal and three on a permanent basis, and he played quite a few games with Messi.
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The versatile Dutchman, who led the Oranje to the final of the 2010 World Cup, was one of the key players for Barcelona under Frank Rijkaard, while Messi was making his name for himself as a young winger who later had the world at his feet. The former Arsenal man won two La Liga titles and UEFA Champions League title in his four-year spell with the Catalan giants.
#5 Henrik Larsson
The legendary Swedish striker, Henrik Larsson also played alongside Lionel Messi during his two-year spell with Barcelona. The Swedish legend joined Barcelona in 2004 from Celtic and spent two glorious seasons at Camp Nou winning the La Liga title in both seasons.
(Video Courtesy: Football Side of Things YouTube Channel)
He was at Barcelona from 2004 to 2006 and saw a talented young Lionel Messi coming through the youth ranks of the club and making it to the first team. Larsson is possibly one of the few players to have played alongside both Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo – with the latter during his short loan spell with Manchester United – apart from other footballing legends like Ronaldinho, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, during his esteemed career.
