A childhood legend seen from the opposite goal

The story of Lionel Messi is filled with unforgettable chapters, yet some small pieces of his childhood continue to surface thanks to those who faced him long before the world knew his name. One of them is Hernán Galíndez, now Huracán’s goalkeeper and an Ecuador international, who remembered crossing paths with Messi when he played for Newell’s and Galíndez defended the youth teams of Rosario Central. According to him, Messi already had a fearsome nickname as a kid: “The red-haired kid with the No. 10.” Hearing that name, Galíndez says, meant you were “already losing 3–0.”

Even then, Messi carried an aura that intimidated opponents. Galíndez recalls that facing him was unlike facing any other child of his age because of the unbelievable talent he possessed: “He was a beast. At that age, seeing someone control the ball like that was shocking.” From his earliest days, the current Inter Miami star played at a level far beyond the rest.

The first save… and the first Messi goal

Galíndez also revealed that one of his earliest memories as a goalkeeper is tied directly to a goal scored by Messi. The two often crossed paths near their homes, as Messi played for Abanderado Grandoli, one of the clubs where his brilliance first emerged. The goalkeeper vividly remembers Messi dribbling past “five teammates, including me,” a scene that perfectly fits the legend he would later become.

Looking back, Galíndez says it fills him with pride to know that the child who scored that goal would grow into the greatest player of all time. His testimony adds another piece to the puzzle of Messi’s early days, where the myth began to take shape.

A reunion with the idol and a moment kept at home

Years later, now as a professional and representing Ecuador, Galíndez faced Messi again—this time on one of football’s biggest stages. After Argentina’s 1–0 win over Ecuador at the Monumental, he made sure to fulfill one of the biggest wishes in his household: swapping shirts with the Argentine captain, the idol of his eight-year-old son.

The moment wasn’t easy to arrange, but the help of Leo Campana, Messi’s teammate at Inter Miami, made it possible. The goalkeeper ultimately secured the treasured jersey, turning a childhood matchup into a full-circle story that now lives framed in his family’s memory.