“Old friends” for a “new sport”. This is how PSG: Messi has still not resumed”>Lionel Messi hailed the broadcast this Wednesday by the American brand of sodas of a short advertising sport where Ronaldinho and himself engage in a technical duel based on juggling and precision during a game of PepsiPong.
Announced as “the meeting that we all care about”, this reunion between the Argentine midfielder and his Brazilian friend who crossed paths with FC Barcelona at the end of the 2000s is not the first of the season. Last October, Ronaldinho indeed, invited by the PSG, had been able to take the time to discuss with the Pulga in the corridors of the Parc des Princes.
The two men became friends in 2003 when 16-year-old Messi arrived at FC Barcelona training. “Everyone was already talking about a young man who was fantastic,” Ronaldinho told us in the interview he gave us on the sidelines of his recent visit to Paris. And, afterwards, when we trained together, we actually saw his quality. At each training session, at each match, we understood that he was different. »
“It was a pleasure to see him do it,” Ronnie said. We quickly became very close. And he became a real friend. I am very happy to see him in the club of my debut in Europe. It’s not something I expected to see! (laughter) I was convinced that he would end his career in Barcelona. And, for me, it was a surprise. As I really like PSG, it was even a good surprise but I never thought I would see him play anywhere other than Barcelona. »
“When I was on the pitch, I was always looking for him”
In the past, Lionel Messi has often recalled how much the reception of Ronaldinho, who gave him a brilliant assist for the first of his many goals in the Blaugrana jersey, had counted. “You helped me so much when I arrived in the Barcelona locker room that I will be eternally grateful to you,” he once wrote to the Brazilian. I had the chance to share a lot of things with you and it makes me really happy. »
The two spent five seasons together at Barcelona. But Messi always regretted not playing more alongside him. “When I was on the field, I was always looking for him, he also advanced. Unfortunately, we didn’t have much time to play together. We didn’t really get to enjoy it.” And it’s probably not this PepsiPong, as prestigious as it is, that will satisfy their thirst for shared moments.
