47 official titles, the most prolific goalscorer of all time, 8 Ballons d'Or and a long list of other achievements. These are Lionel Messi's statistics to date, at the age of 38. And they are expected to become even greater, as there is currently no news of his retirement.
His extraordinary talent was evident from the time he was just 16 years old, outplaying even Barcelona veterans. His former teammate at the Catalan club, Maxi Lopez, revealed this during a recent interview on the Argentine program "Olga".
"I could see that this kid was 16 years old and could take on 30-year-olds. He had such strength and speed. We, the older boys, kept talking about how he would change over time," the former footballer said.
He added: "Ronaldinho used to say 'this guy is better than me'. We're talking about Ronaldinho at his peak, do you know what that means? It was the year he won the Ballon d'Or and he said that to me. Those who are at that level recognize it immediately," said Maxi Lopez.
According to him, Messi's personality on the field was completely different from his private life: "Today Messi is a grown man and a leader for me. But back then he was very young, very shy," he added.
