Xavi: ‘Lionel Messi is the Michael Jordan of football. He’s incomparable, almost inhuman’

I was 20 when I first heard Lionel Messi’s name.

One of the Barcelona youth coaches told me about this kid from Argentina who was coming over to join the academy. He said he had never seen anything like him. To be honest, I was sceptical. Loads of promising kids pass through the Barcelona system. My view was that you could only judge a player when they made it to the first team.

He said to me, “Xavi, this one’s different.”

I remember seeing clips of Messi on Barcelona’s in-house TV channel in the years that followed. His tricks, his goals… those ones where he dribbled past four or five defenders, then rounded the goalkeeper. He looked like a supernatural talent, but so did a lot of youngsters. They only used to put their best moments on the channel.

In 2004, that same coach sent me a message: “That Argentine I told you about is training with you tomorrow.” OK, I thought. It’s time to see what this kid is really made of.

I still remember that first training session. The way he controlled the ball, the way he dribbled, the way he passed, the way he linked up with his team-mates… he could do it all. He was a phenomenon.

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I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Nor could the other senior players — Carles Puyol, Victor Valdes, Deco, Ronaldinho. We just looked at each other, as if to say, “This isn’t normal.” Leo was only 16 and he was pretty much the best player at the club, immediately.

He was a hard-working boy and a fierce competitor, incredibly aggressive on and off the ball, very hungry. Whenever he went forward, there was no showing off, no fancy footwork; he was direct, a one-track mind. My goodness, the way that kid attacked the goal… it was a rare sight. Even at Barcelona, you didn’t see that sort of talent.

Leo was shy and introverted away from football. I shared a room with him on a tour of Asia, not long after he joined the senior squad. He used to ask my permission just to turn on the TV. I told him, “Relax, it’s fine, you don’t answer to me.” I tried to put him at ease, to make him feel comfortable.

On the pitch, we were talking constantly. He’d say, “Maki, this guy is sticking too close to me, find me in behind,” and he’d get away from his marker with a deep run. Sometimes I would see him looking restless because he wasn’t touching the ball. I’d say to him, “Come back, come back.” He would drop closer to me, closer to Andres Iniesta, to Busi (Sergio Busquets), to where the action was. The more Leo touched the ball, the more the team stood to benefit. We wanted him to feel happy and get him involved in the game.

It was easy playing with him. Very easy. If you can’t combine with Messi, you can’t play football; it’s as simple as that. When you pass to Leo, he’ll play it back to you perfectly, at just the right moment. And always to your good foot. As someone who always loved to pass the ball, it was a privilege to play with him. Leo made me a better footballer. I tried to do my bit for him, too.

He was a brilliant team-mate. He started out as a quiet leader — always wanting the ball on the pitch, always showing that personality — but he slowly took on more responsibility. When I left Barça in 2015, he was already a great communicator, encouraging team-mates before games. Now, for Argentina, you can see he is the undisputed leader, in words as well as actions. It just comes out of him: this unquenchable desire to win. You never see Messi not up for a match. The passion he puts into football is very Argentine, very competitive. You can’t escape it.

There are so many Messi performances that stick with me, but if I had to choose one, it would be the Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid in 2011. It was the first leg, at the Bernabeu. Jose Mourinho had us playing in this long grass; we could see they were going for a goalless draw. Leo scored the first, then set off on this Maradona-style run, dribbling past opponents. He was on his own against Lassana Diarra, against Xabi Alonso, against Raul Albiol, against Sergio Ramos, and he managed to beat them all. We didn’t play any football that day. Nothing was happening. And then Messi turned up. That was what he could do. Our team play could be stuttering but we had the trump card of the best player in history. Messi won matches for us on his own.

I get emotional watching him now. I kept going until the age of 39, but I was in the Qatari league by then and had stopped playing for Spain years earlier. Leo is that age now, but when you look at him he’s still exactly the same. He hasn’t changed. Look at the way his feet still move, that fast little shuffle: tsk, tsk, tsk. Anyone else would have retired after winning the World Cup in 2022, but he’s such a competitive animal. He’s convinced he can win it again.

I have no doubt that Argentina will reach the final stages. And we’re going to see the very best Messi. This is his moment. He’s been preparing himself mentally for this, even though many people have said he’s not in good physical shape, that he’s not the same. Then he goes out and scores a hat-trick.

His first goal against Algeria was pure Leo. When Rodrigo De Paul looked up, Leo was in just the right place, the perfect spot to receive the ball. Then he looked back three times. That is one of his secrets. He’s constantly looking, constantly assessing what is around him. He’s got everything in his head. Often, he’s just walking, but he’s walking and looking around. His team-mates are passing the ball about, and he’s working out what the opposition defensive midfielder is doing, what the centre-back is doing, where the free space is. His understanding of the game is top-notch.

We used to do a lot of mental exercises at Barcelona, drills in which you had to look for the space or the spare man. Leo was the master at them. I’m not exaggerating when I say he could have played in Iniesta’s position, Busquets’ position, Puyol’s position, mine… He could do everything just as well as the best player in every position. The same is still true now.

I messaged Leo after the Algeria game. I told him that he was a joke, that I could only laugh when I saw what he had done. It was crazy, crazy stuff. But that’s Leo. He always turns up at just the right moment. For me, he’s incomparable. Incomparable. Almost inhuman.

I like to say that he is the Michael Jordan of football. In football, there is no one to compare to him. He has surpassed the greats of the past because of his longevity: he’s been the best for the last 20 years. Even now, after all this time, he goes and out and shows us that.

His mentality is extraordinary. For me, that’s what sets him apart. He can’t stand losing. He’s got the perfect temperament for football and the perfect physique: his body is tailor-made for the game. Forget about the goals he scored against Algeria; look at his all-round play, his physical condition, the sheer drive and ambition he brings to the game. He has a champion’s mentality that will never be matched.

I could see that he was an exceptional talent at 16, but to have lasted for this long is remarkable. I feel grateful to have played with Leo, to have overlapped with him in history.

I don’t believe we will ever see a footballer like him again.

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