If Messi doesn’t value you, he won’t pass you the ball, reveals former Barcelona manager
(Courtesy : LaLiga)
The Argentine star remains one of the best passers in the sport.
New tales that offer insight into the dressing room during the Argentine star’s final season at Barcelona continue to surface years after Lionel Messi left the team. This time, the team’s former coach, Ronald Koeman, made a revelation that speaks volumes about Messi’s fiercely competitive nature.
In remarks ESPN reported, the Dutch coach claimed Messi had a very specific method for assessing players in the dressing room.
Koeman reveals why Messi ignores passing to those he didn’t value
The message on the pitch was extremely clear, even though it wasn’t an official test or something discussed publicly.
“Messi only passed the ball to Pedri. And believe me: if Messi doesn’t value you, he won’t pass you the ball in training. He will simply ignore you,” Koeman revealed.
Lionel Messi led Barcelona for over ten years, both on and off the field. His skill set set the team’s rhythm, but many players also came to rely heavily on his trust.
Ronald Koeman claimed that the Argentine possessed a “football instinct” that enabled him to swiftly determine which teammates understood his style of play and which did not.
That detail became clear throughout training sessions. A player would receive the ball more frequently if they could read Messi’s movements. If not, they were just excluded from his passes.
According to Koeman, this behaviour reflected the Argentines’ exceedingly high standards for the game rather than an ego issue.
The fact that Pedri, only 17 at the time, was the only player to get past that “filter” almost immediately adds to the story’s unexpectedness.
The midfielder from the Canary Islands had come from Las Palmas, a team in the second tier of Spain. Actually, the original idea was to send him out on loan to obtain experience. Koeman stated that the coaching staff realised they had a unique potential after just two training sessions.
Which player did Lionel Messi often pass to?
Koeman revealed it was Pedri.
Did Messi win any trophies under Koeman?
Yes, they won Copa del Rey together.
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After earning a bachelor's degree in mass media, Rajarshi began his career as a sports writer in 2019, driven by his passion for sports journalism. He has been working in the field for over six years. A devoted fan of Lionel Messi and Barcelona, Rajarshi has been involved in sports since childhood. Before turning his focus to journalism, he even represented his college at the state level. Along with covering football, he enjoys playing the game, watching movies, and experimenting with new recipes in his spare time, as cooking is one of his favorite hobbies.