Lionel Messi will always have a special place in the heart of Barcelona fans.
While the club’s financial plight might have necessitated his exit last summer, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner will always be welcome at Camp Nou.
Besides, there’s good reason to think that there has never been a more lucrative player-club relationship in the history of the men’s game than the one Messi and Barcelona enjoyed for over 20 years.
Messi’s Barcelona legacy
By the time that Messi waved goodbye to the club and signed for Paris Saint-Germain, he left behind a remarkable legacy punctuated by unprecedented tallies of 778 appearances and 672 goals.
Chuck in 10 La Liga crowns, four Champions League titles, seven Copa del Rey wins, three FIFA Club World Cup triumphs and countless other honours to see exactly why Messi attained god-like status in Catalonia.
As such, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Messi ended his time at Camp Nou with the captain’s armband, particularly given his status as one of the most senior players in the dressing room latterly.
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At what age did Messi join Barcelona?
The Barcelona captaincy
When Carles Puyol hung up his boots in the summer of 2014, the Blaugrana moved the captaincy responsibilities through Xavi and then Andres Iniesta until both players had left by the 2018/19 season.
It was at that point where Messi took over as skipper with the Argentine wizard getting his hands on the La Liga and Copa del Rey titles during his three campaigns as leader of the dressing room.
And Messi had been well prepared for the position because his status as vice-captain in previous seasons meant that there were times when he had to fill in for Xavi and Iniesta with the armband.
In fact, during those days where Messi dipped his toe into the captaincy waters, the situation was so unfamiliar that he was involved in an amusing incident that has gone viral on social media all over again.
Messi playing for Barcelona.
Barcelona’s Lionel Messi (R) gets fouled in the penalty area by Levante’s Zouhair Feddal during their Spanish first division soccer match at Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, September 20, 2015. REUTERS/Susana Vera Picture Supplied by Action Images
Messi forgetting his captaincy duties
During a 2015 La Liga clash with Levante at Camp Nou, Messi was wearing the captain’s armband due to the fact that Iniesta was starting the game on the bench.
However, it was adorably clear that Messi still wasn’t entirely au fait with life as the skipper because he seemed to forget his responsibilities as captain when the referees looked to conduct the coin toss.
As confirmed at the time by the Mirror, Messi innocently forgot about his formal duties and had to run over to the officials at a rate of knots once he realised what had slipped his mind.
And the footage is so amusing all these years later that it’s once again attracted thousands of retweets, so be sure to reminisce on Messi forgetting that he was Barcelona captain down below:
An adorable moment
Whether or not somebody reminded Messi about his responsibilities or it simply came to mind, it’s amusing to see the Barcelona legend break into a sprint out of absolutely nowhere as to not delay things further.
And it all seemed to be taken in good spirits with Messi visibly laughing by the time that he reaches the referee, linesman and Levante captain to get the match underway.
No doubt it helped Messi to get used to the responsibilities of commanding Barcelona as he certainly didn’t make the same mistake again when he was leading out the Catalan giants week in, week out.
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