Lionel Messi's 2006 Football Manager player profile is so weird to look at now | OneFootball

Lionel Messi is arguably the greatest footballer to ever do it.

The Barcelona legend and now Paris Saint-Germain star has mesmerised fans since he burst onto the scene as a mere teenager at the Camp Nou.

He was an instant revelation, even as a young 17-year-old and the hype around the little Argentine was unmatched.

His blistering pace, terrifyingly quick feet and fearlessness with the ball was almost hypnotic.

And in fact, now we’re blessed with the gift of hindsight, it’s pretty clear when watching a young Messi rock and roll around the pitch that he was always destined for the very top – although making such bold predictions in the moment is admittedly always tricky.

The folk over at Football Manager will attest to that. The popular computer game has been a mainstay in the heart of many dedicated football fan’s lives for many a year now.

Famous for its capacity to provide in-depth stats on even the most obscure youth talents across the world, the game never fails to impress the masses with its knowledge.

However, reading Messi’s stats for the 2006 edition of the game is pretty interesting to say the least and highlights that they can’t get everything spot on. Well, not all the time at least.

Messi’s player profile Football Manager 2006

So, Messi was 18 in 2006 and had already made his debut in the 2004/05 season.

Which means that the world was already well aware of his wizard-like capabilities.

Abilities that Football Manager reflected in their assessment of the star, which was probably one of, if not, the strongest set of stats for any youth talent on that year’s game.

But there were a few key attributes that they got shockingly wrong.

Let’s take a look at the howlers below before we give you the full overview:

Okay, so first things first, we all know that Messi is very much a left footed player. His weak foot, whilst not awful, has never been a strong suit.

But then a mere five out of 20 for balance?! His ability to remain balanced and swerve between defenders was what made Messi so famous in those early days. Poor call there, FM.

Composure, concentration, teamwork and work rate all seem pretty harsh scores.

Whilst a 16/20 for jumping and 14 for strength seem on the big side, in truth.

Check out Messi’s full player profile below.

To be fair to the game and the analysts involved with setting the data, the majority of Messi’s attributes are spot on.

Plenty of near full marks for the youngster despite being just 18.

But how great is it to look at an assessment of the great man from all those many years ago?

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