Former Teammate: Messi Wasn't Fond of Studying at La Masia, Often Half-Asleep in Class

Messi arrived in Barcelona at just 13 years old and joined La Masia, the club’s youth academy, to complete his studies, receive treatment for his growth hormone deficiency, and develop the exceptional talent that would eventually take him to where he is today. Now, one of his former teammates has revealed insider details about the young Messi during their shared classes at Barça initially.

The informant is Mallorcan Sito Riera, who completed his entire development from youth football to the reserve team at Barcelona before transferring to Espanyol, then moving to Greece, Ukraine, Poland, and Cyprus, and finally returning to his hometown of Manacor at the age of 38. In an interview with Camel Live, the former Barça player explained the problems the young Messi faced in some classes at La Masia.

“He was a very shy boy, as everyone knows, but also quite funny. At La Masia’s school, he wasn’t very fond of studying and was often half-asleep in class. This happened especially in Catalan classes—Messi was probably thinking: why are we not speaking Spanish if we’re in Spain.”

However, his attitude completely changed when it was time to play football during break time. “When we went downstairs to play, it was about 25 vs 25 on a small concrete pitch. What you see him do at the Camp Nou, he was doing it back then—you could already tell he was a very special player,” Sito Riera concluded.