Lionel Messi Rested While Barcelona Players Trained Due to One Reason, Yaya Toure Reveals

Barcelona in 2007-08 was a different beast. The Blaugrana were one of the most dominant teams on the planet, with Thierry Henry, Samuel Eto, Carles Puyol, and Yaya Toure playing for the side. However, despite all these names, a 5ft 7 inches tall Argentinian terrified the opposition the most. Lionel Messi shone like a bright star among the starry names at Barcelona, and it seems like his team did the most to let him accommodate his growth.

While talking with Goal, Barcelona icon Yaya Toure spoke about the team’s way of keeping Lionel Messi fresh before the games. Toure claimed the extent to which they protected the Argentine surprised him but soon understood the reasoning. The Ivorian legend stated, “Actually, in my first year at Barcelona, Messi was a bit like that. We’d finish a game, we’d train. He’s resting [having] massage. I was like ‘What’ and I said to Samuel [Eto] ‘What is this guy doing there?’ Even Thierry comes and goes ‘How is he doing that?'”

He then continued, “But actually, it was Messi. We wanted to keep him fresh and ready for the next game because he was getting a lot of injuries as well. Because when he plays, he has a lot of kicks. People were jumping on him, just kicking him. Just stop him!”

Messi had a great time playing alongside some of the top players at Barcelona. Many of his ex-teammates have fascinating anecdotes to share about their time with the Argentinian while lauding him for his prowess on and off the field. One such player is Kevin-Prince Boateng!

Kevin-Prince Boateng speaks of his time with Lionel Messi

Among the privileged players, the former German soccer player had the chance to share the dressing room with Lionel Messi while playing for Barcelona. During one episode of Rio Ferdinand’s Vibe with Five podcast, Prince-Boateng shared a compelling story about the Argentine from the team’s training session. Unlike others, the German revealed that Messi was precise with his shots and rarely missed them.

READ MORE: Lionel Scaloni Confirms Lionel Messi’s Participation for Copa America 2024 Alongside Angel Di Maria

Similarly, other Barcelona players have all shared their memories with Lionel Messi, with many praising him for his extraordinary abilities. What is your favorite dressing room story about Lionel Messi? Is it him dribbling past the entire defense or his antics with Neymar and Suarez? Let us know in the comments below.

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