Former Barcelona defender sheds light on an unknown facet of Lionel Messi

Being one of the biggest legends in the history of football, the FC Barcelona icon Lionel Messi still remains in the spotlight several years after having left the elite of European football. The Argentine is now entertaining crowds with his talent in the USA, but there is no doubt that he still has a very strong bond with his fans in Barcelona, and Europe in general.

These fans are generally eager to get to know the still unknown aspects of Messi’s life, and as SPORT has reported, another former Barcelona player, Javier Mascherano, has revealed an unknown facet of Messi’s footballing skill.

In an interview, the Argentine defender revealed another role in which he was convinced Lionel Messi would have shone if his career had taken another path:

“If Messi were a defender, maybe he’d be one of the best defenders in the world. It’s impossible to dribble past him. Sometimes, at Barcelona, we would play one-on-one, and it was impossible to get past him.”

“We didn’t stand a chance against him. Sometimes, attackers know how to defend. Leo defended very well. He was very quick, and when you tried to dribble past him, it was impossible.”

This is quite a unique take on Messi’s talents, a player who has proven himself to be one of the very best in the history of football with his attacking skills and records. But it still provides another idea of how Messi was as a player on the training grounds with his teammates, away from the competitive field.

Mascherano also highlighted these attacking talents of La Pulga in this same interview, as he shared another anecdote from a training session:

“In Barcelona, we had a short tournament during training with three teams: five victories and you were the champion. He decided to end the training early, so he scored five goals for the team to win, and the session was over.”

Beyond his formal records and achievements, these memories from behind the scenes also make Messi one of the most beloved players in the history of the Blaugrana club. For now, he is still playing in the USA, but once he hangs up his boots, Barcelona fans will be eager to see him back at the club in one capacity or another.