On July 24, 2018, Barcelona celebrated 10 years of Lionel Messi wearing the No. 10 Blaugrana shirt. Messi is now synonymous with the number, but he spent his first four senior seasons at the club without it — that’s because some man named Ronaldinho sported that jersey.
But by the time Messi assumed the No. 10 before the start of the 2008-09 campaign, he’d already scored 42 goals for Barca (31 in La Liga, 3 in the Copa del Rey and 8 in the Champions League). He’d also already finished third in 2007 Ballon d’Or voting and recreated compatriot Diego Maradona’s “Goal of the Century” against Getafe (you'll find that goal in the above highlights).
This will be Messi’s 11th season wearing the famed shirt, and although the spicy salad hair is gone and a lot of tattoos have been added, none of the magic has left. At 31, he’s still got a lot left to give to football, and we should cherish every moment of it.
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