According to Mundo Deportivo, Lionel Messi only follows Pedri on social media among all current FC Barcelona players – while Lamine Yamal recently followed Messi.
The report states that time is flying: it has been four years since Messi left Barcelona. That means that there are few players in the current team who once played next to him, as Messi now plays for Inter Miami. Given the unwavering connection between Messi and Barça, the fact that he now only follows one current Barça player on social media has come as a surprise.
During his long term of office in Barça, Messi played with six players who are still at the club today: Marc-André ter Stegen, Iñaki Peña, Ronald Araújo, Pedri, Fenkie de Jong and Ansu Fati. Moreover, Alejandro Balde trained with the first team during the last years of Messi, although he was not yet a full member of the Senior Squad. As far as Yamal is concerned, he never shared a team with Messi – except made a wide -spread photo during his youth academy days.
Of all these players, Pedri is the only messi currently following on social media. The two developed a strong connection from the start – both on and next to the field. They often showed seamless link-ups in competitions and outside the field are both known as modest and a bit shy and stayed out of the spotlights. In 2023, Ronald Koeman said in an interview:
“Messi immediately noticed the talent of Pedri and was willing to combine with him on the field – something that he would not necessarily do with every player.”
Another remarkable point: Lamine Yamal disclosed Messi a few days ago. Although Messi never followed the Barça younger, Yamal had previously followed Messi – until he recently decided to “not follow him anymore”. The reason is currently unknown.
As for Ter Stegen, it is known that he and Messi have never had great chemistry; Her relationship was at most one of polite professionalism. More surprisingly, Messi no longer follows Ansu Fati, despite their ever-Close relationship. After Fati had made his La Liga debut at the age of 16, Messi gave him a memorable hug and even put congratulations on social media. At the time, even rumors were that Fati had entrusted his career to Messi's brother, Rodrigo Messi.