Lionel Messi has been the subject of discussion following insights shared by legendary French forward Thierry Henry regarding the Argentine’s remarkable free-kick abilities. In a recent interview, Henry reflected on his time as Messi’s teammate, highlighting the extensive training the forward dedicated to mastering set-pieces.
Henry recalled witnessing Messi’s initial struggles with free kicks, stating, “I witnessed Lionel Messi’s first steps in taking free kicks. At the beginning, his free kicks in training were not very good. I even thought he would never become a specialist in that area.”
“But practice is everything, even for the best players. People don’t understand that talent alone is not enough — you have to work on it.
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He came in every day and practiced free kicks. He would hit the wall, miss the target… and now almost every one of his free kicks ends up either in the back of the net or forces a save from the goalkeeper,” Henry said.
Henry played alongside Messi at Barcelona between 2007 and 2010, during which he made 121 appearances, scoring 49 goals and providing 28 assists.