On this day: Lionel Messi nets maiden FC Barcelona goal in 2005 in LaLiga game against Albacete

1 May is a special day if you are a football fan. On this day 15 years ago, Lionel Messi, one of the greatest footballers of all time, scored his first goal for Barcelona. The LaLiga match against Albacete at Camp Nou saw the then 17-year old Argentine open his account for his team. FC Barcelona shared a short clip of Messi’s “first ever goal for Barca” on their official Twitter handle.

The six time Ballon d’Or winner had made his debut under Frank Rijkaard in 2004 in the derby against Espanyol. According to a report in Evening Standard, Messi, wearing the number 30 shirt, had replaced striker Samuel Eto’o and had managed to clip a shot over Albacete goalkeeper Raul Valbuena. However, his effort was ruled out for offside. Even though his first attempt was ruled out, Messi would go on to score his debut goal after lofting a pass from Ronaldinho in the 91st minute of the game. In the 15 years since his debut, Messi has scored 627 goals and has also won the Golden Shoe, the Pichichi awards as well as the Laureus Award for Best Sportsman of the Year 2019, apart from the Ballon d’Or. Meanwhile, in a report in Metro, Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero has revealed that he believes Lionel Messi will stay at Barcelona despite all the gossip and the uncertainty in the footballing world due to the coronavirus pandemic. “They have changed 20,000 players since he has been there and he has always stayed,” the report quoted Aguero as saying.