'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Football fans are today celebrating the 18th anniversary of Argentine Lionel Messi's arrival to the elite football world.
On this day, September 17, in 2000, 13-year old Messi, who had a growth home deficiency, flew in from Rosario, Argentina to join Barcelona's La Masia.
The Barcelona man was initially training with his boyhood club Newell's Old Boys but given his footballing potential, a decision was made to fly him to Catalonia to strengthen his career.
Fast forward to 2018 and Messi is a living legend and a household name in football. The Argentine ace has scored a staggering 556 goals in 642 games while helping out his teammates with 215. He has also won 33 trophies so far in his career.
The 31-year old, who is Barcelona's most successful player, also won five Ballon d'Ors, for his individual heroics in elite football.
Barcelona legend and teammate Xavi had once talked about the Argentine's first few days training with Barcelona. The midfielder recalls that he was "blown away" by a young Messi during his first training session with the La Liga giants.
In an interview with Spanish publication AS, Xavi said, "They'd already told me about this kid, I'd been warned that there was this young Argentinian kid coming through who was very good, Xavi said.
"They'd even mentioned his name but I'd forgotten. But then, when I saw him in training aged just 16 I could see exactly what they were on about. There was a training drill we used to do in which players are one-on-one against [Lilian] Thuram, and [Carles] Puyol."
"I saw Messi take on those two and couldn't believe my eyes. I thought: 'Blimey, here this kid who's only 16 years old, dodging past professional defenders, internationals. Even then you could tell that he was different. It's obvious that he has an innate talent when he is one-against-one, he's fast, he scores goals, he passes, shoots. He's amazing."
Fans across the globe have taken to social media to celebrate the legend:
