“Out of 100 shots, Lionel Messi made 98”: the brutal praise of a former Barcelona player and the memory of the ‘match’ in training

“To be honest, he doesn’t make any mistakes“Here’s how he sums it up Kevin-Prince Boateng TO Lionel Messi. Six months lived day by day Barcelona from Spain They were enough for him to fully understand the difference that Pulga’s magic made in every training session – and match -. And even though five years have passed since that sporting experience that he will never forget, the Ghanaian is still amazed. “It’s not normal“, he said.

Boateng joined Barcelona on loan for six months in 2019. be a substitute Luis Suarez and fill a role as the Gunslinger’s replacement. Characterized by being a player with a pace of life that led him to be remembered more for his presence at parties and clubs rather than for his footballing level, his time at the Spanish club did not carry much weight. It’s more: He only played five games.. But that experience allowed Boateng to retain something that no one can take away from him: sharing the team with Messi.

Despite the few minutes he spent on the pitch, what the 37-year-old former player remembers most about his fleeting stay in the Culé team were the competitions that the players themselves organized after each training session. Not for any reason of my own, but because It was the perfect opportunity to be dazzled by Leo.

“After training we kicked from outside the box. Brother… out of 100, 98 were goals. I tell you it’s not normal,” Boateng recalled when he was a guest on the cycle. Rio Ferdinand presents FIVEhosted by the Manchester United idol himself.

“To the best, bang!, against Ter Stegen (Barcelona goalkeeper). I told him in German ‘come on man, what’s happening?’, he said ‘I can’t’.. “It’s the perfect pace, right in the corner near the post,” added the Ghanaian to continue to surprise everyone and everyone.

And in the middle of the anecdote, he joked: “When he failed we thought he was sick, as if he had a fever. We told him, ‘Is everything okay?'”

Although he made it clear that those shots were far from misdirected. “After two or three missed shots, the goalkeeper made an incredible save, it’s not that he missed the mark. He has never failed, it’s incredible,” concluded Boateng.

Despite the praise, incredibly Boateng doesn’t consider Leo the best player in the world. Thus emerges the great curiosity in the former striker, who only a few months ago had confessed: “To get to Barcelona I had to say that the best player in the world was Lionel Messi, I lied. It was one of the biggest lies of my life. I’m sorry for the Barça fans, but I always supported Real Madrid when I was a teenager. “I love Cristiano Ronaldo.”

To avoid possible confusion, it is worth remembering that despite the surname Boateng, Kevin Prince is not the historic Bayern Munich central defender who remained on the pitch after being dribbled by Messi in the 2014-15 Champions League semi-final. . The German defender who suffered the action was Jerome Boateng, the brother of Rosario’s former teammate.

Girolamo Boatenginternational with the German national team and world champion in 2014, He is the remembered protagonist of what many classified as a “broken hip” caused by Leo. Then again, he was Kevin Principe the one chosen by the Boatengs to enjoy the star. Two opposite poles, with Messi as the common denominator, for better or for worse, depending on who you ask.