[New post] Mauricio Pochettino played in Lionel Messi’s Barcelona league debut, could have been teammates at Espanyol, several years later he is now set to sign him to play alongside Kylian Mbappe and Neymar
Anish Dogra posted: " Seventeen years since first coming across Lionel Messi, Mauricio Pochettino is about to coach him. Barcelona's greatest ever player is ending his 21-year association with the club and it looks like Paris Saint-Germain is his next stop. An"
Messi is leaving Barcelona and heading for Pochettino's PSG
And sharing the changing room with him is a long time coming for Pochettino, who was there when he burst onto the scene in Spain.
A fresh faced Messi came on for his La Liga debut on 16th October, 2004 against Espanyol and the rest, as they say, is history with 672 goals following in a further 777 games.
Pochettino was in defence for the opposition that day, but could not stop Deco from scoring and Messi replaced him for the final eight minutes.
Pochettino was playing for Espanyol when Messi made his LaLiga bow
Speaking earlier in the year, the former Spurs manager revealed: "Messi was about to play with Espanyol, the loan deal was practically done.
"My dream was always to manage the best players, right from when I was with Espanyol and Southampton and that deal was close.
"The deal was well advanced but he delivered a great display in the [2005] pre-season Joan Gamper trophy and that was the end of that."
Pochettino later became manager of Espanyol in 2009 by which time Messi was known as one of the best in the world but the pair have always been close with a shared love of Argentine side Newell's Old Boys bonding them.
"We've met over the years in places such as London or in Italy. We both share the love for Newell's, as we both came through their academy and that is our common bond."
Messi also voted for Pochettino in 2019 for the FIFA best men's coach award which further amplifies the excellent relationship the pair have.
Neymar and Pochettino both have a history with Messi and the three of them could form part of a dream team
Having delivered a masterclass against his Tottenham side in a 2018 Champions League game, the boss will be glad to have him on side this time.
And there's no doubt Messi will now easily slide into Pochettino's 'genius' players he has either played with or coached. The others being Diego Maradona, Ronaldinho, Jay-Jay Okocha and Ivan de la Pena.
With Neymar and Kylian Mbappe already at the helm, alongside the amazing signings the club have already made like Sergio Ramos, Gini Wijnaldum and Gianluigi Donnarumma , it is set to be an extremely exciting era for the Parisians.
Surely now with all the fire power available, the club will be able to secure the club's first Champions League success.
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