"We were winning all the games 15-0, 20-0, and he scored a lot of goals every game." That's Gerard Piqué describing a 13-year-old Lionel Messi at La Masía — before the Ballon d'Ors, before the Champions Leagues, before any of it.
Piqué appeared on the podcast The Late Run and pulled back the curtain on what it was like to share a pitch with Messi during their academy years. The two would go on to play 500+ games together for Barcelona, win 30 titles as teammates, and cement themselves as one of the great defensive-attacking partnerships in the club's history. But in those early days, even that future felt uncertain.
The one question mark hanging over Messi
It wasn't the talent. That was obvious to anyone watching. The concern was his body. Messi's growth hormone deficiency meant he was smaller and lighter than his peers, and the question wasn't whether he could dominate youth football — he clearly could — but whether any of it would translate when the men got bigger and the game got faster.
"There was this big question mark about whether he would be able to translate everything he was doing at the academy to first-team football," Piqué said. "If he could replicate everything he was doing, he would surely change the history of the game. And he did."
He did. Ten La Liga titles, four Champions Leagues, seven Copa del Reys, and 35 trophies in total for Barcelona alone. The body held. The talent scaled. The rest is documented.
Messi over Ronaldo — no hesitation
Piqué also weighed in on the debate that defined a decade of football, and he didn't hedge. "For me, there's no doubt. It's Messi," he said, calling Ronaldo "a machine" but placing Messi above him on raw talent. Coming from someone who was actually in the dressing room with both men and won titles alongside each, it's not a hot take — it's a firsthand account.
As for what both men are doing now: Piqué retired in November 2022. Messi, at 37, is still playing — still producing in MLS with Inter Miami, and still leading Argentina into World Cup 2026 preparations, with friendlies against Mauritania and Zambia coming up at La Bombonera before the tournament kicks off in June.
- Argentina vs Mauritania — La Bombonera
- Argentina vs Zambia — La Bombonera (31st)
- Inter Miami vs Austin — Nu Stadium (4th)
- Inter Miami vs RB New York — Nu Stadium (11th)
The kid who was scoring five goals a game in 15-0 wins at La Masía is now preparing to defend a World Cup. Piqué saw it coming before most people knew his name.
