WWithout a doubt, one of the most legendary partnerships in Barcelona’s history is that of Lionel Messi and Gerard Pic. They shared a locker room for 13 years and played over 500 games together. They also won 30 titles together and scored 17 goals as a pair.
But before their success, both men spent their formative years at La Masa, with the defender spending four years at Manchester United from 2004 before returning to the Rose first team in 2008 and continuing to make history. Now he remembered when he played with Leo before his success.
What was it like playing with Messi at La Masia?
Lionel arrived at Barcelona in 2000 and trained with La Masia for four years before making the big leap into the first team, making his debut on 16 October 2004. There he played alongside Pic, who had been training at the Rose Academy since he was 10 years old.
Little did he know that his future would be filled with dozens of titles and overflowing with hope and love for football, Pic was quick to recognize the talent of his Argentine teammates. He explained this during an appearance on the podcast “The Late Run.”
“I started playing with him when he was 13 and he was insane,” he said. “We were winning every game 15-0, 20-0 and he was scoring a lot of goals every game,” he said, revealing that Leo had a talent for scoring even back then.
However, Gerard also said that one of his big concerns about himself was his height and thin physique. Lionel suffered from growth hormone deficiency (GHD) and had to undergo several treatments, but his doubts persisted.
“There was a big question mark as to whether he could translate everything he was doing in the academy to first-team football at a professional level, because if he could replicate everything he was doing, he would definitely change the history of the game. And he did,” he added.
Fortunately, Messi was able to emerge victorious from the situation, winning 35 trophies for the Catalan club, including 10 La Liga titles, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 7 Copa del Rey titles, 4 Champions League titles, 3 UEFA Super Cups, and 3 Club World Cups.
It also sparked one of the sport’s most iconic rivalries with Pic’s other teammate, Cristiano Ronaldo. However, when it came time to choose between the two, the legendary defender did not hesitate to stand by his former teammate.
“For me, there’s no doubt, it’s Messi. The level of talent he has – I’ve never seen another player like that. Ronaldo was a machine, he trained in the gym all the time. He prepared himself like no one else did, but in terms of talent, Messi is insane. That’s why I put Messi over Cristiano. They are two of the best players in the history of this game and I had a chance to be their teammate and win the title with them. But for me, Messi is better.
Meanwhile, Gerard Pic officially retired from professional football on November 5, 2022, but Lionel continues to shine in MLS with Inter Miami and with the Argentina national team.
Ahead of the biggest soccer tournament to be held in Mexico, the United States and Canada from June 11th to July 19th, Leo and Albiceleste will play two friendly matches in the run-up to the World Cup, in order to defend their champion title. They will play Mauritania and then Zambia on the 31st, both at La Bombonera Stadium.
After that, Inter Miami will play Austin at the New Stadium on Saturday the 4th, followed by an MLS match against RB New York on the 11th.
