In the summer of 2006, Barca toured the US. Ronaldinho was the reigning Ballon d'Or winner, having just helped the Catalan club win the Champions League and La Liga under coach Frank Rijkaard. When visiting his close friend Kobe Bryant in the US, Ronaldinho brought along a young boy.

"Who is this?" Bryant asked. Ronaldinho replied: "I'm introducing you to the person who will become the greatest soccer player of all time." At that time, Bryant thought Ronaldinho was joking, so he replied: "You, you are the best, who else?" But Ronaldinho waved his hand: "No. This kid will be the best."

The boy mentioned here is Lionel Messi.

At that time, Messi had been playing regularly for Barca's first team for more than a year and had just returned from the 2006 World Cup with the Argentina national team. But he was only 19 years old, many people knew he had potential, but no one had clearly explained how good he was. Only Ronaldinho had that hunch.

"Me, Deco and the whole team followed Leo from the youth team, to watch Leo's matches," the Brazilian legend told The Athletic . "We believed Leo would be the best in the world at this sport."

And Ronaldinho was right. Messi just set a record with his eighth Ballon d'Or in his career. This success has an important contribution from Ronaldinho. They are friends, brothers. And to some extent, Ronaldinho has also been Messi's advisor throughout his career. And there is another thing that few people realize.

When Pep Guardiola took over as Barca coach in 2008, he ordered Ronaldinho to be sold because he feared the Brazilian would hamper Messi's development. This is true. But the impact was broader than just a purge of Ronaldinho. It was a time when Ronaldinho was no longer able to maintain the minimum discipline of a player. His energy in training was zero. He was often out at night and his loose lifestyle began to affect his performance on the pitch more quickly. Fellow Brazilian Edmilson once called him the "black sheep" in the Barca dressing room.

There was more than one black sheep. Taking over at Barca, Guardiola decided that Ronaldinho, Deco and Samuel Eto'o had to leave. The first two went to Milan and Chelsea respectively, while Eto'o stayed on for another year before moving to Inter. "It's time to refresh the dressing room," Guardiola said on his first day in charge.

In the book "Barca: The Making of the World's Greatest Team" by Graham Hunter, it is written: "Barca realized that a young, enthusiastic Messi could not be led by these misguided seniors - who treated him well, and whom he idolized." But Ronaldinho denied the possibility of leading Messi down the path of partying. "That idea is silly," he replied when asked by a reporter from The Athletic .

And even their separation does not negate the important role Ronaldinho played in helping Messi at the dawn of his career. The Brazilian helped his Argentine junior in a kind and touching way during the early stages of their friendship.

Messi was 16, and looked like a child. Ronaldinho’s accounts of youth team trips turned out to be accurate. “He was an alien,” Ludovic Giuly, a teammate of the pair at Barca, told Diario Sport . “He would eliminate us all.”

Along for the youth team trip that day was Henrik Larsson. The former Swedish striker told the BBC in a documentary about Messi that aired ahead of the 2022 World Cup. "When I saw Ronaldinho, I believed I had seen the best player," the Swedish striker began. "Until that day when I met Messi."

Then-Barca coach Rijkaard didn’t know much about Messi. He was intrigued when several first-team players and other coaches from the youth team and academy convinced him to give Messi a regular first-team place. He gave Messi his debut against Espanyol in October 2004 when the Argentine was 17.

But while his feet made noise on the pitch, Messi was quiet off it. Barca's people at that time remembered two things about Messi at that time: he was clearly extremely talented, but off the pitch, he was very quiet, even mute.

Ronaldinho recognized both. He approached Messi, making the then-youngster feel at home and less shy. Ronaldinho always checked to make sure Messi was sitting next to him in the dressing room. He invited Messi to sit at the Brazilian table of his compatriots at Barca at dinner, joking that Messi was the only Argentinian eating there.

"I made my debut at the same age as Leo, so I know exactly how difficult it is to integrate into a dressing room full of older players," Ronaldinho told Hunter. "So to take the pressure off Leo, I treat him like a little brother, and we try to joke around to make him as natural as possible.

Genius recognises genius. "Ronaldinho was the biggest star on the team at the time," Larsson recalled. "So when Ronaldinho pulled Messi into conversations, he felt respected."

But Ronaldinho was no exception. When Maxi Lopez first joined Barca, Ronaldinho took him aside and said: "Whenever you need anything, I'm here for you," Lopez told the BBC . "He did the same with Leo. They are humble superstars."

Messi doesn't need complicated advice. "The only thing I told him was to play football with joy and freedom," Ronaldinho recalled. "Just play with the ball at your feet and everything will be fine."

Messi tries to do this. He once told Hunter: "I try to copy what Ronaldinho does, but in a simpler way, I just try to be as happy as possible. Look at the way he always smiles on the football field, that's what I always keep in mind. Playing football brings joy and happiness to me, and that's why I stick with it."

Rijkaard gradually gave Messi more first-team football in the 2004–05 season. His first Champions League start came against Shakhtar Donetsk, but his Liga minutes were limited by injuries. When Barca hosted Albacete at the Camp Nou on 1 May 2005, Messi replaced Eto'o in the 88th minute, and Ronaldinho seemed to spend his remaining time on the pitch trying to help Messi score.

As the clock ticked down to the 90th minute, Ronaldinho chipped the ball for Messi to flick over the goalkeeper, sending the crowd into a frenzy. But their celebrations were cut short as the linesman raised his flag for offside. Ronaldinho grinned.

Deco then passed the ball down the left wing, Messi controlled it with his head and exchanged passes with Ronaldinho. Another pass from his senior. This time Messi gently chipped the ball over goalkeeper Raul Valbuena's head, and the linesman's flag was no longer raised.

Messi tried to run away to celebrate the goal in another direction, but then turned back to find his senior. Ronaldinho ran up. Messi jumped on his back, as if the predecessor was introducing his successor to the crowd.

"It was always a special moment for me," Ronaldinho recalled. "Because that's when his career started. It was an honour to be part of this story. It all seemed so natural, and I was pleased to see this young man, my friend, doing well and scoring his first goal."

Their relationship grew stronger, like brothers. Ronaldinho showed Messi how the world worked. There was no one better than Ronaldinho: a great talent mentoring the next great football talent. He showed Messi what to expect from the best player on the planet: teammates, opponents, media and fans are all watching.

As for Messi, Ronaldinho always used the word "fate" to talk about their relationship. There was no pressure on Ronaldinho and asked him to "keep an eye on this kid, he will be great when he grows up". Ronaldinho protected Messi completely by instinct. They are two opposite personalities. Ronaldinho is extroverted and outside the framework where Messi's life takes place. Loving a girlfriend since the age of 21, having a child at 25 and being faithful until now - the way Messi grew up - was never the way Ronaldinho liked.

"But football brought us together," Ronaldinho explained. "We spent a lot of time together, travelling, playing games and becoming a family, enjoying and playing together. He sat next to me in the dressing room. Leo was always very reserved but we talked to each other, we were close and had fun until today."

Would Messi have become the greatest player without Ronaldinho? Maybe. But Ronaldinho was always the most important influence on the dawn of Messi's career. When Ronaldinho left Barca, the team belonged to Messi. The boy took over the man's place. Ronaldinho's mission ended.

"It's an honor to see people around me achieve their goals in life," Ronaldinho said. "It really makes me happy."

Do Hieu (according to The Athletic )