Former Barcelona star reveals why Lionel Messi was unhappy in Spain

Lionel Messi will always be ranked among the best football players in history and some consider him the greatest player in Barcelona history.

Messi has won eight-time Ballon d’Or award and his collections of trophies show he’s a force to reckon with. However, there were times he was unhappy during his long and successful spell at Barcelona.

Former teammate Samuel Umtiti who worked with Messi at Camp Nou witnessed how he was able to keep up with the pressure, and provide insane performance every week.

Umtiti moved to Camp Nou in 2016 and until he left in 2021, saw Messi score at at least 30 goals across five successive seasons.

The Frenchman has now shared some details about Messi’s mindset.

Lionel Messi celebrates scoring a goal for Barcelona (Photo by PAU BARRENA/AFP via Getty Images)

He told The Elevate House: “As a person, he is top. You realise that even if you have won everything, it is useless to believe you are superior.

“There is only one, it’s Leo. At all levels. He alone is capable of winning a game, and very few can do that. If we won 4-0 and he didn’t score, he wasn’t happy. In his head, it was clear: he had to score all the time. That’s the sign of the big ones.”

Umtiti, who won the World Cup in 2018 while on Barcelona’s books, added on what makes magical Messi special: “[He] is a killer in front of the goal. He knew exactly when to accelerate and when to slow down the game. He is always looking left and right, checking everyone’s positioning. He always has a time advantage. There is no recipe to defend Leo, he is unpredictable.”

Currently playing for Inter Miami, Messi is the most decorated player in Barcelona history.