Ludovic Giuly talks about how 16-year-old Lionel Messi ‘killed’ Barcelona big stars in training [Quotes]

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has been terrorising defenders for a long, long time

Messi: World class from birth

Think of your earliest memory of Lionel Messi. He was world class then. Even if you’re his mother, your earliest memory of the Barcelona superstar is probably him running rings around everyone. We’ve looked through the records. It’s official: There has never been a time in history when Lionel Messi wasn’t world class. What about before he was born, we hear some smart arses ask. Well, then he didn’t exist so his quality was immeasurable. It’s invalid. Step out of that time machine.
Instead of looking for a point in history when Messi wasn’t world class, listen to Ludovic Giuly. The French midfielder (who’s still playing at the ripe old age of 40) spoke about his first encounter with Messi. The Argentine forward was only 16-years-old but it was already evident that he was a special talent.

Guily gets flashbacks

Giuly told Spanish outlet Sport: “Messi was only 16, but he destroyed us all in a training session. They were kicking him all over the place to avoid being ridiculed by this kid, but he didn’t say anything. He just got up and kept on playing. Every play he made was dangerous. It was incredible. He would dribble past four players and score a goal. Even the team’s starting centre-backs were nervous. They would go in hard on him, but he took it in. He was an alien. He killed us all.”

Carlos Puyol and Juliano Belletti were among Barcelona’s defenders at that time.