Lionel Messi won 10 La Liga titles and four Champions League trophies with Barcelona while scoring 672 goals in 778 games – with Barca taking special precautions to look after their 10 Player number
Former Barcelona player Jean-Clair Tobedo has revealed players are not allowed to touch Lionel Messi in training.
The French centre-back, who currently plays for Nice, joined Barcelona in 2018 but has only made five appearances in all competitions. Despite this, he still managed to train with Messi and explained the lengths the club will go to protect their valuable asset.
Of course, Messi will go down in history as one of Barcelona’s all-time greats. The Argentine played 778 games, scored 672 goals, won 10 La Liga and Champions League trophies, and ushered in an era of dominance.
It’s perhaps not surprising that Barcelona would take extreme measures to look after one of the greatest players in football history, but Tobido has explained the extent of it.
“At Barcelona we are not allowed to touch Messi in training,” Tobedo told the Ligue 1 program. “It sounds crazy but it’s true. We have to be careful. It’s normal, he’s the best and you don’t want to hurt him.”
READ MORE: Lionel Messi admits trying to humiliate Robert Lewandowski and confirms World Cup snub
READ MORE: Lionel Messi slams himself as ‘idiot’ over Louis van Gaal regrets
However, this is not always the case. Based on an excerpt from Rio Ferdinand’s autobiography, the former Manchester United defender shared Thierry Henry’s story about Messi training for Barcelona.
Messi was fouled and did not get a free kick. Needless to say, this only angered the striker. “So when the ball came back to his goalkeeper, he (Messi) ran back and asked for the ball,” Henry said. “The goalkeeper passed the ball to him and Messi ran through the team angrily and scored.”
Ferdinand added: “Thierry said it was something he used to do in the playground at school. I’ve done similar things against little kids. But he (Messi) did it against some of the best players in the world. Did it: Yaya Toure, Puyol, Iniesta, Xavi, Busquets. And not just once. He did it several times.”
After three loan periods, Tobedo left Barcelona permanently in 2021. Messi joined Paris Saint-Germain in the same year. However, unlike Tobedo, who thrived in Ligue 1 with Nice, Messi struggled. After joining Inter Miami, Messi admitted that he was very unhappy at the club.
“I had two years where I was so unhappy on a personal level that I didn’t like it,” he told Mundo Deportivo. “That month was brilliant for me because of winning the World Cup, but apart from that it was a difficult period for me. I wanted to rediscover joy and enjoy every day with my family, my children. “.That’s why Barcelona’s decision didn’t happen. “
When Messi led Miami to their first trophy in franchise history, the League Cup, his emotional changes on the pitch were palpable. He has since scored 11 goals in 14 games and taken an extended break until MLS returned in February.