When Messi Scored His 1st Goal For Barcelona, Leapt On To Ronaldinho’s Back During Celebrations (Video)

Lionel Messi scored his first-ever senior team goal for FC Barcelona, on May 1, 15 years ago in a league match that was played against Albacete.

Ronaldinho provided the assist to 17-year-old Messi, who was wearing the No. 30 shirt, when he put the ball at the back of the net only to become the youngest-ever scorer for the Catalans at that time. That evening, he scored twice but the first one was disallowed for being off-side. Messi, who replaced Barca’s then top player Samuel Eto in the 87th minute, made his Barcelona’s senior team debut the previous October in a derby against Espanyol.

Just two minutes after walking into the field, Messi scored from a pass from Ronaldinho. However, the joy was cut short as the referee declared it off-side. In the 91st minute, the Brazilian provided Messi with another amazing pass and this time, the teenager produced a clean finish with a lob over the Albacete goalkeeper Raul Valbuena and earned his first senior goal.

The Argentine ran with his arms spread and leapt on to Ronaldinho’s back in wild celebration for his memorable maiden goal for Barcelona’s first team in front of a pumped-up 91,000 crowd, who had witnessed the beginning of a golden era in soccer.

A total of 15 years have passed since then and the celebration has become the signature style of Messi, who is now the skipper of the club. Messi, from 718 appearances for Barcelona so far, has scored 627 goals across competitions. Over the years, he has established himself on the very top level of the game and apart from arch-rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, there has been no other player who has managed to even threaten his records.

For being a goal machine, Messi has won several laurels including record six Ballon d’Or awards, the Golden Shoe, the Pichichi awards and various prestigious prizes such as the Laureus Award for Best Sportsman of the Year 2019 - the first soccer player to win this trophy. In 201-20 season, Messi has already netted 19 times in La Liga and remained on the top of the scorers' chart before the leagues, across the globe, were halted because of the coronavirus outbreak.