16 Year Old Messi Playing In Spanish 3rd Division ● Rare Footage 

When that kid was "the next Maradona" but instead became... Messi

It's truly amazing he's had such a long career with every player trying to break his leg

Messi has had quite literally the perfect career. Greatest mix of talent and hard work. He gradually became even better and better. Avoided big injuries. Won everything with his club and gave the supporters of Barca even more than they dreamt of. He shattered goalscoring and assisting records. Also ended up winning everything he could win with his country. He's in his mid 30s now. Lots of legends retired then, he's still going strong.

The kid now a WC winning captain, and The Greatest of All Time. How lucky I am to witness that.

So this is 16 year old Messi... this is proof some people are born with talent. Jeez Messi looks like he’s been in his prime his entire life

The opponents in the video can proudly say "You see son, that's me.. trying to tackle the greatest footballer of all time"

messi was lucky to survive that period. his opponents could only compensate with dirty play

i remember someone in the R10 documentary saying when they brought Messi to train with the 1st team afterwards Dinho said "are you crazy??" and they went "what, do you think he still needs more time?" and Dinho was like "no, i'm saying he should've already been playing with us!"

I miss these days when you started to hear about this kid at Barcelona who was going to become the best player in the world... And then we watched it happen and watched him with awe for the next decade! What a player!

I’ve never seen someone like him, and I’m 101% sure that I will never see anyone like Leo Messi

The amount of dangerous tackles on him makes it a miracle he never got seriously injured!

The striking thing is not the dribbling. His passing and playmaking, understanding of space is just incredible at 16. I have never seen any player with this ability at this age and Messi really lived up to the billing.

Remarkable how he hasn't had a terrible injury.. he's getting nailed here!

As a teenager, he was already way better than 99.999% of the adult professional players.

the speed .. the acceleration .. the control ... the technique .. the precision ...he is a football mozart .. picasso with a football

At that age he was better than any footballer today.

He could nutmeg a centipede he is just so quick and skillful and he has to tolerate some dreadful tackles, a tough guy as well as brilliant

He was already unstoppable. Damn..that ball stuck to his feet in full speed mode...INSANE . Unbelievable skills when he was 16. That little guy was ready to become GOD. ...And he did. Simply the G.O.A.T.

Literally the only thing that got better over time, is his shot accuracy. For the rest it feels like he has been in his prime for ever

I'm a die hard Real Madrid fan but i just love watching this man...The greatest footballer of all time.

Some of the most genius passes I have ever seen and he is only 16... He sees the game completely different than any other player. Even when the defense keeps a great shape and does their jobs he still finds a pass that no one else on the pitch sees, it is truly incredible.

When Messi dribbles, it's like he has a gravitational pull on the ball. It never seems to go beyond him, and when it looks like it will, he somehow hooks a foot around it and pulls it back. It's almost hypnotic.

Man so he really was born with this huh. Everything is already so good, the speed, the dribbling, the vision, even the weight of his passes. Insane...

How can a footballer be this good!? The more videos i watch of him the more i'm amazed.

Goals Assists Finishing Long shots Freekicks Speed Agility Dribbling Passing Playmaking Through Balls All in ONE.... 851 Games 692 ⚽️ 288 Assists G.O.A.T

Fairplay level: Sergio Ramos

I still remember the day I saw Messi in the Olympic, I said wow this guy is seriously good.. Cant believe he went on and became the GOAT, yet I'm still here making ends meet.

Throughout Messi’s career, his most underrated attribute has to be his physicality. Even at the age of 16 he was getting fouled and hit so much but yet he hasn’t suffered many major injuries his career. You can tell that even at this age he was far better than all his peers simply because the only way they could stop him in nearly all these clips to foul him or heavily man mark him. He already seemed like a professional playing with novices at this stage. Look at how seamlessly he gets passed defenders, the space he creates by drawing several opponents towards him, his passing and vision. Absolutely insane. It’s like he knew he was above them already and was just having fun.

You can't compare Messi to CR7. Messi is pure talent and a genius. Yes CR7 is excellent and need to be appreciated. But Messi was and is clearly on a different level altogether.

Messi's ball touches and dribbling is unseen. These days we don't see too many young players dribbling like him

Important was his reflex and instantly escaping from tackles, otherwise he would have been often injured. Unique in this world. 👍🇦🇷

The ball stucking to his feet is a bigger mystery than the whole bermuda triangle.

Even as a 16 year old defenders can't stop he is the greatest ever inspiration for everyone

One and Only Messi. The most unique footballer ever sent by God. He was so purely genius since he was a kid. He got so many tackles, and I've heard so many Players had quit playing, but this boy, Messi, seemed like unstoppable. He is already perfect footballer since he was a kid. He has broken many records, he has become the most decorated player with Trophies ever. And now he has left us his legacy that will not be easy to be repeated. Forever G.O.A.T. Captain of the World. ❤

Messi is the only human in any industry that became the best and greatest but never got better. He has remained original from start till finish

For world class players we say 'a legend in the making' after watching these kinds of videos but in Messi's case we'd say 'The GOAT in the making'. He is more than a legend already, he hasn't even retired yet but still.

Already a genius at 16. I will be long gone before we see anything close to him.

Makes me nostalgic for the old FIFA games, back when Messi was also still a teenager and surrounded by all these incredible players like Ronaldinho, Eto, Xavi, Deco, etc, and yet you were still most fascinated with this small little Argentine who had insane amounts of talent at a young age, and you just knew he was going to be something great. It was really exciting times at Barca.

He's consistent, probably most consistent player of all time.

He's never been a diver yet his talent attracts so many knocks from opponents. Class.

He’s the greatest player I have ever seen. I don’t expect to ever witness another football player in my lifetime to come even close to his level.

A better comp at 16 than most footballers have for their entire careers

The control, the short space dribbling, the passing... Man was already unbelievable at 16. Just incredible.

When he was 16: his teammates waste his assists When he was 26: his teammates waste his assists When he will 36 : his teammates waste his assists

I wish he was still 16 again.Saddest day for me will be his retirement

Interesting fact is that he still have the same way of using the pitch - dropping deep to detect the tempo, drifting to the right side of the pitch, passing between defence lines, etc. WOW

All these opponents knowing the only way they can stop him is to trip him, and even then it doesn’t always work 😂

Oh, just imagine to be a spectator on these games. they had no idea they watched the GOAT!

Crazy that this footage looks like it’s from the 80s or something. These tackles he’s on the receiving end of are criminal. How he weathered these challenges at such a young age is beyond me. The physicality/aggressiveness he’s dealing with seems almost beyond that of the professional level of higher leagues

What makes Messi another level is how even at 12 years of age he played this way. He played the same way on the pitch as he did in training. He was once asked about his dribbling. He said ' i don't aim to dribble past the player its to but the ball into space. '. His shooting improved the stronger he got. He worked hard on freekicks. placement of the ball and studying the defenders. There will never be another football player like Messi,

This just shows how important talent is. This guy is doing things at 16 that most players can never do

Play him in any competition and he'll give you some of the best performances ever whether his team wins or not 🐐

5:06 this is the proof that he is a genius, he uses the momentum from being pulled by another player to turn sharper

This shows what a rare talent he has in soccer. See how effortlessly he dribbles and passes.

Always playing at a completely different speed than the rest around him and making defenders look like traffic cones since he was freaking 7 years old! What a beast! So glad he's Argentinean!

Sometimes I watch this Genius and just Cry because I know how blessed I am as a football lover to live in the same time as this Football God 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏. Never in the history of man shall we witness something like Messi again.

Regular player : plays with the ball Messi : Let's play with the players

a future WC champion doing his thing. Love that we are alive to witness Messi :D

same old same old messi.. his play-style never ever change!!

those aggressive tackles on him remind me how maradona was getting violated by defenders

He plays like that since he was 4 years old. He is supernatural. A gift from above, and he perfected throughout the years. What a privilege is to have him still playing in the fields of the world. 🩵🤍🩵🇦🇷🏆🥇

I started watching football at an early age when Ronaldinho was at his prime in Barcelona and he was the reason why I started watching Barcelona . The very first football Jersey was Barcelona's I was smitten by the magic Ronaldinho produced on the pitch it was a memorable days..then I distinctively remember one day my elder brother told me that there's an Argentine boy playing in the second division of Laliga his name was Messi despite the fact that he was at Barcelona's youths I couldn't believe what he told me like he's gonna be even better than Ronaldinho so being a Ronaldinho fan my instant reaction was 😡 (kiss my soft side 😿😿) but when I started watching him playing I was feeling terrible because I thought this (son of a biscuit eater) is gonna steal the spotlight from Rony 😒😒 oh boy I was so tormented and frustrated and to add to that the way Ronaldinho was kicked out of the Club I developed hatred for Barcelona even though he was signing for my second favorite team AC MILAN then I decided fuck Barcelona anyway I watched them because of him then in a television show Ronaldinho was asked about the best player he answered Messi I was like f...ck that shit 😂😂😂 if he himself said it then I ain't got shit to say..😤😤 then I decided to quit supporting the club but that's when I realized I was fuck**,ng lying 😂😂😂 when you support a team you can never hate that team so after this long time I came to only one conclusion that is not is he the best at the present time rather the best that has ever touched the ball by long shot and none will come even near him and I firmly believe we are never going to see anything like him during our lifetime and unfortunately it's about that time when we can clearly see that he is at his Last days and the journey is about to come to an end and the football world will never be the same again 💔💔💔

I remember your videos of messi from back in the day and all i can say is thank you! Always a pleasure watching your videos

Bartomeu: Looks like a loaner to Everton Valverde: Looks like a bench warmer Pep: Looks like the next big thing!

Its a miracle that no one broke his leg in his entire career or took out his ACL with how defenders have tried to stop him with the only way they know how. He was truly touched by God and destined for greatness..

It's amazing that Messi didn't suffer of too many serious injuries. Few players get hit so hard and so often as him.

My God! King Messi here was already a professional, a champion in the making

'If you're good enough, you're old enough'. He could have played in the first team of any club even at 16. Tiny physique; no muscle; ruthless opponents who evidently weren't above kicking lumps out of a kid- no problem for the greatest player of our generation. 👏🏆🏅 I'd be amazed if I see anyone like him again in my lifetime.

His speed is phenomenol. He can amazingly change direction with high speed. Superb

❤👍🦁MESSI 👽der Alien Insane Genius Incredible Real Unreal Real Life Crazy Skills der Mann vom anderen Stern 👍👍⚽️👍👍 😍 ❤🙏🙏🙏 Herzliches Dankeschön für die Arbeit und das Zurückspulen 👍😍

They b giving my goat those nasty tackles from day 1 He really a god of what he does

We are so lucky he was able to go on with his career out of those butchers.

His vision and playmaking is unreal, like he see the game from above and control the space and time perfectly

His balance was and still unbelievable

You can see the genius at so young. When you watch Pelé, Maradona and R9 you see very similar too.

2:32 is just insane.

The most surprising part of this is seeing Messi in Nike boots 😂

With the years he improved the shots but the dribbling and vision he already had it at 16. Mental

Messi is a god damn tank, his stability and stamina during those dirty plays by the opponents is crazy, you simply cant stop the man

The only thing missing in his game at this time was finishing.

What's amazing about this is that Messi at this young age didn't really do body feints to try to trick the player he just dribbled and cut in and out a lot and used his speed. He had learn to incorporate body feints so that he doesn't get fouled and it gives him extra time to escape the defenders swooping leg

Even in his 16 years of age… he pass tons of defenders older than him. Break their ankles. Defenders are rough on him never see him as a new comer but treat him as a danger. They never played soft to him and never under estimated him. They know what a trouble he can be when he have the ball that’s why multiple defender are on to him. Just amazingly and outrageously mesmerizing to watch and to wish…wish that we are same as him but it’s not! Reality check hurts sometimes you know 😅😂

Some people think he became a great passer later in his career but i knew great passing is something you have from an early age snd its proved in this video. I think the only thing he got alot better at was his finishing. He improved his power and precision to become a truly great finisher

Imagine one of those tackles ending his career there ... Those players should be ashamed for some of those challenges on a 16y old boy. Players should be more protected on all levels of football and tackles going only for the player should be straight red!

unbelievable talented. he got the gift and used it - these tempo dribblings are not from this planet.

Ese es el auténtico Messi los últimos 10 años se los a pasado llorando cuando le entran y sin ser falta... Hasta los 26 años jugó así dándolo todo ahí si era balón de oro

Even at this age he was among the best in the world. Absolutly amazing.

Casi todos querían lastimarlo por la desesperación y la impotencia de no poder detenerlo... increíble que no lo consiguieron 😱 Definitivamente el mejor jugador de todos los tiempos.

Skillwise he was the best in football's history, no doubt. This coming from a Brazilian. Pele, Maradona, name whoever you want, this dude showed the most objective soccer ever played. This in an era dominated by high competitiveness and improvements in football tactics and so on. Truly amazing.

That was so much fun to watch. Thank you!

Messi is a Beast,a Monster, an Alien who simply toyed and teared up the whole top Division and I can't imagine what he did to the 3rd Division.😂.As time goes by these people will at least be grateful that they once had the chance to play with the greatest player in the history of football .

What a journey from, Div 3 to barca b to barca A to..GOAT.. Absolutely genius..#respect

Watch him at .57-1.05 and you'll see quite simply, superhuman balance. It happens right before the second slide tackle: The way he is able to regain posture after the first challenge is something you rarely see at senior level nevermind a youth match. Just unbelievable.

wow, this kid has so much potential! I wonder what his future will be like🤔 I wouldn't be surprised if he will play for d1 barca one day

He will not even stay down...he Keeps on going. Even when you try to break his legs... What a Player 🦵🦵

Messi is messi .. now or 20 years ago .. still the same 🤷‍♂️

I am a big fan of messi Those who r fan of messi plz lke it👇👇👇

I guess " The only way to stop Messi" started when he was 16 , if not earlier. Such a smooth talent...how is he staying on his feet after all of those tackles is beyond me... other player fall after the first light touch,

I'm sure this kid will grow up to become a great footballer one day

33 now so he's been playing for more than half of his life for barca😭💙❤️