Top 5 Barcelona players to have graduated from La Masia

#1 Lionel Messi

The Messi(ah)

A record-tying 5 Ballon d’Ors, 4 European Golden Shoes, 29 trophies with Barcelona including 8 La Liga titles, 4 Champions League titles, 5 Copa del Rey, most official goals scored in La Liga (365), a La Liga season (50), a club football season in Europe (73), a calendar year (91), El Clasico (26), most assists in La Liga (144) and Copa America (11), Winner of the 2005 FIFA World youth Championship and Olympic Gold medalist for his country. The Greatest player ever? No one even comes close.

It would be unfair to say that La Masia taught Messi how to play because what Lionel Messi does with a football cannot be taught or practised, what he does was thought to be impossible until he came into the footballing world. He is to football what Beethoven is to Music, what Da Vinci is to Art, what Shakespeare is to Literature: A Genius.

The world does owe gratitude to the scouts at La Masia for recognising the greatness of the man when he was a boy suffering from growth hormone deficiency. Barcelona took a chance, relocated him to Spain from Argentina and agreed to pay for his medical treatment. What happened next will go down as football folklore. A Messi(ah) was born and changed the footballing world forever.

Some experiences in life cannot be described, they can only be experienced. Watching Messi play is one such experience. Watch him play, and thank the Almighty that we have got to see one of His miracles in our lifetime.