Lionel Messi was already a superstar at nine as Newell’s Old Boys first-team players stayed behind to watch the ‘tiny magician’

Long before he became an eight-time Ballon d’Or winner and World Cup champion, Lionel Messi was already the talk of Rosario.

Years before his famous move to Barcelona’s La Masia, the youngster was dazzling spectators at Newell’s Old Boys, where his extraordinary talent was so obvious that senior professionals would regularly delay their own schedules just to watch the club’s latest wonderkid in action.

First-team players couldn’t stop watching

Former Newell’s midfielder Matias Fondato has recalled the incredible excitement surrounding a young Messi, describing how the club’s first-team squad would gather to watch the child prodigy after training.

Speaking to talkSPORT, Fondato revealed that the teenager’s reputation had spread throughout the club long before he was old enough to train with the senior side.

“Everyone was talking about this tiny magician, destroying teams.

“At that time I was starting to be in the first team. Before going to the hotel, we’d stay behind to watch him. We had a little bit of time after the shower before the bus left, so we’d go and watch his matches.

“It was just absurd to watch him play. Honestly, it was the same as now, except he was only nine years old.”

‘The Machine of ’87’

Messi was the standout player in Newell’s legendary youth side nicknamed ‘The Machine of ’87’, a team that reportedly went unbeaten for three years.

Even at such a young age, comparisons with Diego Maradona had already begun to circulate around Rosario.

Supporters packed into the Estadio Marcelo Bielsa would cheer his every touch, while the young Messi regularly entertained fans with kick-ups before matches.

Fondato believes it wasn’t simply Messi’s ability that made him different — it was the way he understood the game.

“The thing was his size. He was very, very tiny, but at the same time he looked like he had an adult’s mind playing against kids his own age.

“You couldn’t know he’d become what he eventually became, but you could immediately see he was completely different from anyone else.”

A legend before making his senior debut

Although Messi left for Barcelona before making a competitive first-team appearance for Newell’s, his influence on the club has never faded.

His remarkable rise from Rosario to global superstardom has only strengthened his legendary status back home, where he remains one of the city’s greatest sporting icons.

More than two decades later, he continues to defy age, producing elite performances while extending one of football’s greatest careers.

World Cup glory completed the story

For Fondato, watching Messi finally lift the World Cup with Argentina in 2022 was the perfect ending to a journey that began on Newell’s youth pitches.

“At one point in Argentina, some people were saying, ‘He’ll never win the World Cup.’

“After he finally won it, and seeing everything he’s still doing now, it’s unbelievable how he has maintained that level for so many years.

“For me, because I come from football, there was never any doubt about how special he was.”

Those who watched the “tiny magician” as a nine-year-old always believed they were witnessing something extraordinary. The rest of the world simply took a little longer to catch up.