Boateng Reflects on His Time at Barcelona and the Legends of Football

Kevin-Prince Boateng faced a unique challenge upon joining FC Barcelona, especially as a lifelong supporter of Real Madrid. With his allegiance firmly established at the Santiago Bernabeu and Ronaldo held up as a beacon of excellence—being a five-time Ballon d’Or winner and the club’s all-time leading goalscorer—Boateng’s transition was far from straightforward.

In 2019, however, the football landscape in Catalunya was dominated by Lionel Messi, the undisputed king at Camp Nou, whose authority was not to be questioned. Boateng learned this lesson the hard way during his inaugural press conference with the club. He recounted to Unscripted by Josh Mansour that he had to suppress his true feelings: “I always said I wanted to play for Real Madrid. I had to lie in a press conference because, two years earlier when I played for Las Palmas, I declared Cristiano Ronaldo as my favorite player and Real Madrid as my favorite team!”

Upon signing with Barcelona, he was instructed to declare his allegiance to the club and Messi: “They told me, ‘Your favorite team is Barcelona, and the best player in the world is Lionel Messi.’ They insisted that I say that, or I couldn’t play here. When the first question in the press conference asked who was the best player in the world, I said, ‘Lionel Messi.'”

Boateng’s move to Barcelona was contingent upon Messi’s approval, as the Argentine superstar was known to review every transfer agreement. Boateng reflected, “He had that power. I would go to sleep hoping that Leo liked me or saw me as part of the team. I knew that if Leo said ‘no,’ I wouldn’t be signing the contract!”

Despite his admiration for Ronaldo, Boateng confessed that training alongside Messi left him questioning his own capabilities. In a 2020 interview with DAZN, he stated, “Training with Messi left me speechless. I had always claimed that Cristiano Ronaldo was the best in the world, but Messi is something else. He’s extraordinary. I felt inadequate for the first time in my career. I thought, ‘I’m done, I’m going to quit playing!'”

Not all aspects of Messi’s approach were viewed positively, however. Boateng recounted to Rio Ferdinand Presents that Messi’s casual demeanor, often seen sitting on his phone or receiving massages before matches, influenced younger players negatively: “That’s what the young players in Barcelona did—Malcom, Ousmane Dembélé. They looked at him and thought they could do the same, which led to injuries before games. He is the only player in the world who can afford to do that.”

During his time at Barcelona, Boateng made only four appearances before returning to Italy. He concluded his playing career in 2023, having had a diverse journey that included stints at various clubs such as Tottenham, Portsmouth, AC Milan, Fiorentina, Monza, Eintracht Frankfurt, Hertha Berlin, and Schalke.