Lionel Messi is a bit of an enigma. He has been painted as an anti-social genius, and as the quiet but friendly force that keeps the current Barcelona power trio of MSN in balance. It’s hard to know what to expect from him — is he abrasive or gregarious in his own quiet way? — and apparently this held true when Paul Pogba met Messi.
The french star recently came out and said that Messi approached him and gave him some advice at the Ballon d’Or ceremony. Pogba thought that he would have had to have been the one to approach Messi, but Messi defied his expectations.
"He really touched me because he came to me himself," Pobga said. "I'm the youngest and, out of respect, it should have been me that went to him, but he saw me and he came over.”
"We talked and he's really a good guy. He gave me some advice…that's all."
Oh, to be a fly on the wall. If we could get even a hint of what advice Messi gave Pogba, we would have a heck of a story. Sadly, Pogba never talks about the nature of the advice he received, just that he received it.
What we can learn about the encounter revolves around Messi himself; he doesn’t seem to be someone who worries about circumstance. I can think of a lot of celebrities, in sports and otherwise, who would have scoffed at walking up to someone less important or of a lower class than them.
Pogba was right to feel touched by Messi’s approach. It shows that Messi is humble, even though he has just as much of a right to be cocky as anyone else in the world, especially at the Ballon d’Or ceremony, a ceremony literally named after the award he was about to win.
Pogba went on to show some humility of his own. When asked about being named to the FIFA FIFPro World XI as one of the best XI players in the world at the age of 22, he had this to say: “I didn't think I'd get there so soon but it's what I wanted.”
Pogba has been killing it with Juventus this year. Photo: @BBCSport | Twitter
"It's a motivation for me. I'm not going to get a big head. I've done nothing in football.”
"I haven't won the Champions League -- I've won the Scudetto [the Italian league title] but I'm nothing for the moment.”
"I still have to develop, to learn. I'm going to try and do things that few in the world have done ... try to win the Champions League, try to win the Euros.
"I don't like resting on my laurels... I always want more."
Maybe that’s the advice Messi gave him…
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