The reality about the ‘Lionel Messi rule’ at Barcelona

The truth behind Barcelona’s ‘Lionel Messi rule’

It is no surprise that Lionel Messi is Barcelona‘s greatest footballer of all time and that he’s a prized possession for the Catalans. Many stories about a “rule” had come up over the years which indicates that the Argentine is protected and not put under solid competition in training by the rest of the teammates. This “rule” states that Lionel Messi should be well protected and not handled in a rough manner by his teammates in training.

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Barca defender Jean Clair Todibo shared his training experiences with the little magician, recently in an interview with BILD. The youngster stated that he’s played against the Argentine multiple times and that he’s done well against him, made tackles but he did not go all in. The 20-year-old stated that he has learned a lot from the veteran but he also stated that he went easy on him. The Frenchman stated that everyone else has to go easy on the 33-year-old winger in training.

The statements made by Todibo revealed this sort of unspoken rule that the teammates have to go easy on their captain in training. It is no surprise that the Argentine is a massive footballer and that he’s one of the most important squad members at the Nou Camp. Hence, this unspoken rule may after all be a thing in the training grounds of the Blaugrana which is made to offer protection to the magician to maintain the club’s best interest.

If such a rule even does exist unconsciously in the minds of the coaches and players at the Nou Camp, one cannot exactly form a debate which goes against this motion because Messi is usually the difference-maker for Barcelona and arguably their best and most effective player at the age of 33. Hence, a rule that offers protection to the Argentine so that the club get their regular results due to his constant genius will not exactly be considered uncanny.

When Leo officially stated that he wanted to leave the La Liga giants, the whole club and fanbase went into a state of emergency. Countless fans were heartbroken by his statements. These events signify the actual stature of the little magician from Rosario. There is no official “rule” that guarantees easier conditions around the six-time Ballon D’or winner, but it will not come as a surprise even if there was.

Do clubs have such ‘rules’ for every star player?