Six thousand fifty-six days.
That’s the duration between Lionel Messi’s first appearance for Barcelona, a 1–0 win over Espanyol in October 2004, and his last, a 2–1 home defeat to Celta Vigo several months ago.
Only one of the 26 other players who saw the pitch on that first day in Barcelona is still rostered anywhere: midfield maestro Andrés Iniesta, who captains Vissel Kobe in Japan’s top flight. (Another, Espanyol center back Mauricio Pochettino, is now Messi’s manager at PSG.)
