Henrik Larsson He has the privilege of having shared the field with three absolute icons of world football: Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho and Cristiano Ronaldo. The former goalscorer of Celtic, Barcelona y Manchester United reviewed his career in an interview with The Overlap, where he surprised by recognizing one of the biggest errors in his football analysis: not foreseeing that Messi He would become one of the greatest players of all time.
Larsson arrived at FC Barcelona in 2004, in a stage marked by the brilliance of Ronaldinhowho dominated the world scene. From the Swede’s point of view, the Brazilian was the undisputed king of that locker room. “I didn’t immediately realize that Messi It would be one of the best. Then, Ronaldinho “He was the best in the world and I was playing with him,” Larsson explained, remembering the context of a team that would end up achieving glory in the 2006 Champions League.
The first impact of Messi in the dressing room Barça
When remembering the first steps of Messi in the first teamLarsson He admitted that his attention was elsewhere. The Argentine was not yet a stable part of the squad during his first year and his appearance was almost silent. “In the preseason, I think it was in Japan, I saw him on the plane, but I didn’t think too much about it. Then I saw him training and I asked him Van Bronckhorst: ‘Who is that?’” the former striker confessed with total honesty.
With the passing of the training, Larsson He began to notice that this young Argentine had something different. Messi He could do anything with the ball and was also efficient, a rare combination even at the highest level. However, it was difficult for the Swede to imagine that anyone could overcome what Ronaldinho represented at that time for world football.
“He had the technique, the speed, the left foot… everything was there,” he recalled. Larsson. Even so, he recognizes that his mistake was not measuring Messi’s ambition and perseverance, factors that would end up placing him on a historical level. Today, from a distance, the Swede accepts that he underestimated the player who would redefine modern football.
Larsson’s reflection not only magnifies the figure of Lionel Messi, but also portrays how even football’s greats can make mistakes when evaluating pure talent. Because if this confession made something clear, it is that the genius of Messi It was so extraordinary that it surprised even those who saw him born from inside the locker room.