At the time, he was the latest 'new Maradona'. The most exciting teenager in world football, the star shining brightest in a Barcelona team that had begun rivalling Real Madrid’s Galacticos status.
Who said so? Maradona, ranked at no.3 in FourFourTwo's list of the greatest players of all time, for one. In 2005, Messi was not simply the flavour of the month, an over-hyped tabloid creation set to fade away as quickly as he’d risen to prominence. One more Diego double who fails to match expectations.
“He’s different to the rest,” insisted the original (and the best). “He’s different to Pablo Aimar, Juan Roman Riquelme or Andres D’Alessandro. I see myself a lot in him.” Six months prior to our meeting, Messi was just another hopeful playing for Barcelona’s B team in front of crowds of 2,000 fans at best.
Below is the original interview feature from the January 2006 edition of FourFourTwo, believed to be the first in-depth interview the great man ever gave to an English publication.
