Juliano Belletti has revealed how a 16-year-old Lionel Messi showed him up in training at Barcelona.
The Brazilian was a key part of the Barcelona first team at the time while Messi had just come up to train with them from the B team.
"When Messi came out of the B team, Frank Rijkaard put him in with us in an 11 against 11 on a small pitch," Belletti told ESPN.
"He was on the substitute team and I was with the starters.
"[Andres] Iniesta caught my attention and asked me if I knew him (Messi).
"I said no and he warned me: 'Be careful, eh.'
"When he first got on the ball, I thought: 'Damn! This kid is cheeky!'
"Then, when I was preparing to approach him and take the ball off him, he'd already gone past me and scored a goal.
"He ran right through me."