I met Messi when he was just 14 years old, upon his arrival at Barcelona. He was an introverted, shy kid who didn’t talk to anyone. He just listened, learned. He was like a computer, a genius, as if he were Japanese.
Surprisingly, I talked a lot with him, and he told me many things. One day, his coach called me and said:
‘What do you talk about with Messi? Here in the locker room, he doesn’t say anything.’ That’s when I suspected he had some issue with his teammates. I had to call Ronaldinho to ask him to look after Messi both on and off the field. He said, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll do it. He’s fine but listen, this guy will be better than me, you know.’ After that, Messi spoke to me and said, ‘If I ever play for the national team, will you be with me?’ And I replied, ‘Of course I will.’ Some time later, I was on vacation when my phone rang: it was Messi telling me he had been selected for Argentina to play against Hungary. I took a flight, went with him, and said, ‘Leo, you’re a bit of a strange Argentine, you don’t talk much, do you?’ And he answered, ‘I prefer to listen, that’s who I am…’. The rest is history.
The incredible anecdote from Cristina Cubero, a journalist and great friend of Leo Messi, about how she protected him when he arrived in Spain and how she watched him grow. 🇦🇷🇪🇸
