Barcelona Chief Surprisingly Snubs Lionel Messi to Name ‘Best Teammate’ | OneFootball

Barcelona’s current sporting director and former midfielder Deco has explained why he opted for Ronaldinho rather than Lionel Messi as the “best” teammate of his career, even if he hailed the Argentine maestro as “the most complete.”

Before assuming control of the club’s frail finances, Deco spent four seasons pulling the strings on the pitch for Barcelona. Across 161 appearances for the Catalan giants during a period of transition, the former Portugal international enjoyed the highs of the 2006 Champions League title and the lows which prompted Pep Guardiola to usher him out of the club two years later.

Shortly after Deco left José Mourinho’s European champions Porto to join Barcelona in the summer of 2004, Frank Rijkaard handed a scrawny Argentina winger his senior debut. The kid who barely spoke would soon announce himself as arguably the greatest player of all time, but from Deco’s recollection, the team’s superstar was a different South American.

When presented with the choice of Messi, his familiar rival Cristiano Ronaldo and Ronaldinho during a discussion with Romário, Deco mused: “I played with the first Messi and the first Cristiano. If I have to choose, I’d choose Ronaldinho. Of those I played with, Ronaldinho was the best. He had technical ability, wow! He did different things.”

Ronaldinho scored a brace at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2005. / PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU/AFP via Getty Images

The Brazil-born attacking midfielder did make sure to add: “The most complete star I’ve played with is Messi.”

Deco had far more opportunity to sample Ronaldinho’s unique brand of mischievous magic during his four-year stretch at Barcelona, playing more than 130 matches alongside the iconic forward compared to his 79 outings together with a teenage Messi. Between 2004 and 2008, few would argue that any player could match Ronaldinho’s undiluted talent.

The 2005 Ballon d’Or winner, however, spotted Messi’s supernatural talent early. “He should be playing for the team already,” Ronaldinho told reporters after Messi’s first training session with the senior side. It was the rubber-legged Brazilian who teed up his young teammate’s first-ever goal. Following what would later be recognized as a seismic day, Ronaldinho predicted: “He will outdo us all.”

By the crude measure of goals, Messi surpassed the combined collective return of Deco and Ronaldinho (355) by the time he was 26.

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