Young Lionel Messi Who Seems To Think Riquelme As Jesus

JAKARTA - Lionel Messi has long proven himself to be the best player wearing the Barcelona jersey. But his first agent, Josep Minguella has another story about who the real best player is.

Minguella reveals how Messi viewed Juan Roman Riquelme in his youth. The two players were team-mates at Barcelona for a very short period.

Despite their minimal interaction, it is clear that Riquelme had a sizeable impact on young Messi. They also played together in the Argentine national team. One of them was at the 2006 World Cup.

"Sometimes Leo will come to join in the barbecue and I remember one time Riquelme, Rochemback, Motta and some other players came," Minguella said in his SPORT column.

"And I can still see Messi sitting under the table looking at Riquelme as if he is Jesus Christ," Minguella continued.

"For him Riquelme is his big idol, he is a left-handed player and plays at number 10 in the Barcelona first team.

"However, Leo will only stare at her because she is so shy, you have to force the words out of her."