With a talent widely regarded as second to none, and with many considering him the greatest footballer of all time, Messi won almost everything there was to win at Barcelona and went on to conquer the world with Argentina . the foundations of his remarkable career were laid at Barcelona, where his talent was nurtured at La Masia before he went on to become a club legend While his journey with the national team ended after he won everything in Argentine colours. The legacy Lionel Messi left at Barcelona is almost impossible to replicate. In recent years, Lamine Yamal has been touted as the next Messi, and so far, he has shown promising signs at both club and international level.
Bojan went on to make 48 appearances and score 12 goals in his first season, an impressive return for a teenager breaking into one of the biggest clubs in the world. At 17 years and 51 days, he also became Barcelona’s youngest-ever goalscorer in La Liga at the time, a record he held until Ansu Fati came along. After scoring just seven goals in the 2010/11 season and finding it difficult to get as much game time as he wanted under Pep Guardiola, he decided to leave Barcelona and joined AS Roma. In two years with the Serie A club, Bojan scored seven goals in 37 appearances and was also loaned to AC Milan. The closest Bojan came to matching his numbers at Barcelona was during his time at Stoke City, where he made 85 appearances and scored 16 goals. He scored 41 goals in 163 matches for Barcelona, while his overall club career saw him score 93 goals in 451 appearances.
Despite a bright start to his career at Camp Nou, Bojan’s form dipped significantly as he struggled to cope with the demands of playing for Barcelona when the club was the dominant force in European football. It marked the beginning of a major downward trend in his career. After Italy, he would go on to play in the Eredivisie with Ajax on loan, the Premier League with Stoke City, the Bundesliga with Mainz on loan, La Liga during a second spell at Barcelona and a loan stint at Alaves, before moving to MLS side Montreal Impact and eventually Japan’s J-League with Vissel Kobe.
Bojan had already shown extraordinary promise in Barcelona’s youth ranks, scoring a staggering 423 goals, reportedly the highest tally by a youth player in the club’s history. His remarkable performances earned him a first-team opportunity, with Frank Rijkaard handing him his senior debut during the 2007/08 season.
