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When I arrived in Barcelona my dream was to play in the first team, but I never could’ve imagined what happened next! We visited the whole city like tourists, Barça’s stadium is so beautiful, I still remember the emotion I felt the first time I stepped into Camp Nou.As soon as I arrived in Barcelona I started training, I didn’t sleep at La Masía5 but I went to León XIII school, where all the kids from other cities where studying. I spent every afternoon with those kids, many of them were from Barcelona and the rest came from other provinces of Spain. like Iniesta. They also knew what it was like to be far away from their families and friends so we had a lot of things in common. I had a hard time during the first two seasons, I couldn’t play for months because my legal papers were not solved and I was injured in my very first match.
The real change came in cadet category6, where we had a great team and had the fortune of winning everything. We had Gerard Piqué, Cesc Fábregas, Víctor Vázquez and we didn’t lose a single match. Today, after so many years I understand the Barcelona philosophy, which made me stronger as a football player and as a person.When I was sixteen I was called up, they told me that they were going to make me a professional player, I was so excited! I was going to be part of the team! My first minutes at Barcelona were in a match against Porto7, my father was told that I might travel with the team but I didn’t tell anyone and they found out watching it in the news. That day my dream came true.
My official debut was at La Liga8 in a derby against Espanyol9. I was playing for Barça “B” but also alternating with “C”, and sometimes with Juvenile B which was my correspondent category by age. From one day to the next I was told to go to the first team’s locker room to start training with them. The first day I walked in shyish, it felt like my first days at the club… just going there and seeing all those legends, so many great players! And also wonderful people too! they treated me very well and I adapted to the team very quickly.
We were a young group with a hunger for victory and it was easy to be a part of it because Ronaldinho, Deco, Silvynho and Motta received me like one of them, same thing with Xavi, Iniesta and Puyol, all of them are exceptional human beings. Dinho was our leader, the best one and I learned a lot of things with him, I feel grateful of how he treated me since day one and all the help he gave me. I feel very lucky to have lived so many great moments with him and having conquered so many things together.
My first goal was an amazing feeling. I went to dispute the ball against a defender, won it, gave it back to Ronaldinho and stayed in my position waiting for his magic. Ronaldinho threw it to me and the ball came bouncing to my feet, I faked a power shot and chipped it over the goalkeeper. I ran to the crowd and when I turned back there was Dinho running to hug me, he lifted me up and all my teammates came to congratulate me.Coming to Barcelona was a big step for me and the most important decision of my life, not only in my career but also personally. I grew up in this club and lived so many happy moments with my family.
I’ve always wanted to play for the national team and living far away made that dream stronger. I thought that it was going to be very hard, that people in Argentina wouldn’t know me or recognize me, but one day, when I was sixteen I was called up to play in two friendlies with the U- 20 team against Paraguay and Uruguay, that is where my journey began. We won the U-20 World Cup in the Netherlands10, one of the biggest achievements of my career.
I would change my personal achievements just to win the World Cup with the national team, I’ve always said it, it can’t be compared to anything. We all want to win and me more than anyone because I’ve been struggling with this dream we all shared and that is to be champions with Argentina.
How is it like to be Leo Messi? Most of the time it’s nice, but there are moments where I’d like to be unknown and walking down the street unnoticed. Football is always going to be special for me, but I understand that life is not just about football. The birth of my first son changed my life and made me see things with a completely new perspective, a more calm one. I still love playing football, but when the match is over I dedicate my time to my family.
I have a peaceful life, quite normal. My day starts early, we take Thiago11 to kindergarten and then I go to the club to train come back home, have lunch, take a short nap before is time to pick him up from school. He doesn’t care very much about football, and I don’t buy balls or force him to play. Mateo is still very little… when they grow up they’ll probably see and hear what I’ve done.