When Lionel Messi played West Ham Under-21s: ‘What the hell are you doing in Romford?’
By Roshane ThomasLionel Messimay have little recollection of November 11, 2014, but former West Ham Unitedprospects were left speechless that day.
Ten years ago this week, the Inter Miamiforward — who has won the Ballon d’Or award as the world’s best footballer eight times, is a World Cup winner, and is the record goalscorer for both leading Spanish club Barcelonaand Argentina’s national team — played against West Ham’s under-21s in a training-ground match.
Carlos Tevez, Javier Mascherano (two West Ham old boys), Sergio Aguero, Angel Di Maria and others were there with Messi, preparing for a friendly international against Croatia, to be played two days later at the Boleyn Ground, West Ham’s then home stadium. Among those who faced them was Sebastian Lletget, now 32 and also playing in MLS, for FC Dallas.
“I’ll never forget seeing Messi, Tevez, Di Maria and others get off the coach thinking, ‘What the hell are you guys doing in Romford?’” he recalls. “Messi dribbled past the entire team, and there was no chance we were going to tackle him. No one wanted to be at fault for injuring Messi.
“I have Argentinian parents, from Buenos Aires and La Plata. The coaches found out and brought me over to speak to a few players. My only regret is I was too shy to ask for pictures. As soon as I got home, the regret kicked in. I didn’t want to bother them, but I definitely should’ve.
“They were going hard on us in the match. They didn’t care that we were only 17, 18.”
Though Messi and company won the most recent World Cup, in 2014 their 1-0 defeat by Germanyafter extra time in that year’s World Cup final was still fresh in their minds, having happened just four months earlier.
Messi was 27 when he played against West Ham’s youth team. The previous season, he scored 41 goals across 46 appearances for Barcelona. And that was an average year by his astonishing standards at the time, having registered 53 goals in 2010-11, 73 in 2011-12 and 60 in 2012-13.
Josh Pask, 27, who now plays in the Welsh league for The New Saints, laughs as he discusses a video that has since gone viral of Messi going past him.
“I remember Messi receiving the ball on the right and dribbling past me and four other defenders,” he says. “I just started laughing. Then he dinks it over our goalkeeper. I thought, ‘Wow, Messi is running at me’. Seeing what he does on TV, then getting a first experience of it was amazing.
“One of my team-mates recently asked, ‘Who is the best player you’ve played against?’ I said, ‘You won’t believe me, but it’s Messi’. Then I explained to him about the day I played against him. Then a few days later, that video went viral and I sent it to him.
“What’s funny about that day is, we were training and our academy manager Terry Westley said, ‘Argentina’s first team is going to train against us’. My response was, ‘Is this a joke?’ — I thought he was pulling our leg.
“The club wanted to keep it on the hush, because they knew people would flood the area. (But) It got leaked and there were loads of people outside the training ground. When we got to Rush Green (West Ham’s training ground), I lost count of the amount of security guards I saw.
“All the lads just wanted to speak to and take pictures with the players. It is a day we all became fanboys. We were about to play against Messi, Tevez and all these top players. We were in awe of them, especially Messi.
“We couldn’t get near the ball. Messi, Aguero and Di Maria came off and on came Tevez, (Gonzalo) Higuain and (Ezequiel) Lavezzi. They subbed world-class players and brought on world-class players. That always stuck in my mind. The quality was ridiculous. The following day we played against their subs and theyscored six goals in 20 minutes.”
Kieran Sadlier, 30, now a midfielder for League One side Wycombe Wanderers, recalls that Argentina weren’t taking it easy on them. “I initially thought it was going to be Argentina Under-21s,” he deadpans. “Then I looked online at their squad and saw it was the senior side.
“It was a night game, we trained in the morning and everyone at West Ham was there to see Messi. No one cared about the other players. Their manager (Tata Martino) wanted to have a proper game for about an hour.
“I played right wing and I thought they were going to take it lightly on us. I remember dribbling and their centre-back (Federico) Fazio smashed my ankle. I remember thinking, ‘S**t, I didn’t think it was going to be like this’. We couldn’t tackle them because we would’ve got in trouble.
“I gave the ball away for one of their goals and Messi scored. Probably my best assist ever! I managed to get a picture with Messi but I wish I got his shirt. We were told to not bother them but it’s hard to do that when it’s Messi, who’s the best player of all time.”
Ben Marlow also featured in that training ground match.
Now 29, he was released by West Ham in 2015 and went on to play for a string of non-League clubs in the London area before retiring this June due to a persistent knee injury. Although he has a new career, nothing will quite surpass the events of that evening in November 2014.
“I thought it was a wind-up but the moment I saw Messi I knew it was real,” Marlow says. “The whole experience was surreal.
“A ‘pinch me’ moment. I remember they brought off Aguero, Messi and Di Maria. I thought, ‘Finally, I can have a breather’. Then Tevez, (Javier) Pastore and (Erik) Lamela come on. The quality they had was ridiculous. After the match, Messi had about seven security guards around him. I couldn’t get close to him.
“The local school got wind that Messi was at the training ground. Some of the kids tried to climb over the gates. It was an unbelievable night and the best moment of my career.
“No one believes me when I say I played against Messi. I’m a gardener now and when I mention it, people often say, ‘You’re talking a load of rubbish’. But when I show them the pictures, they say, ‘Wow, you actually have’. Ten years on, it’s a moment that will stay with me forever. Messi being in Romford felt weird. Then he ends up being the best thing I’ve ever seen.”
After glittering spells at Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, Messi joined Major League Soccerside Inter Miami in July 2023. Last Saturday, the 37-year-old’s side were eliminated in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs, losing 3-2 to Atlanta Unitedin the deciding match of a best-of-three series. For Lletget, facing him in MLS has been a chance to atone for what happened in east London a decade ago.
“I played against Messi for FC Dallas,” he says. “To compete in an actual match was special. I hugged him after the game and finally got my picture! It’s gone full circle for me, and another moment I will always cherish.”
When Lionel Messi played West Ham Under-21s: ‘What the hell are you doing in Romford?’
By Roshane ThomasLionel Messimay have little recollection of November 11, 2014, but former West Ham Unitedprospects were left speechless that day.
Ten years ago this week, the Inter Miamiforward — who has won the Ballon d’Or award as the world’s best footballer eight times, is a World Cup winner, and is the record goalscorer for both leading Spanish club Barcelonaand Argentina’s national team — played against West Ham’s under-21s in a training-ground match.
Carlos Tevez, Javier Mascherano (two West Ham old boys), Sergio Aguero, Angel Di Maria and others were there with Messi, preparing for a friendly international against Croatia, to be played two days later at the Boleyn Ground, West Ham’s then home stadium. Among those who faced them was Sebastian Lletget, now 32 and also playing in MLS, for FC Dallas.
“I’ll never forget seeing Messi, Tevez, Di Maria and others get off the coach thinking, ‘What the hell are you guys doing in Romford?’” he recalls. “Messi dribbled past the entire team, and there was no chance we were going to tackle him. No one wanted to be at fault for injuring Messi.
“I have Argentinian parents, from Buenos Aires and La Plata. The coaches found out and brought me over to speak to a few players. My only regret is I was too shy to ask for pictures. As soon as I got home, the regret kicked in. I didn’t want to bother them, but I definitely should’ve.
“They were going hard on us in the match. They didn’t care that we were only 17, 18.”
Though Messi and company won the most recent World Cup, in 2014 their 1-0 defeat by Germanyafter extra time in that year’s World Cup final was still fresh in their minds, having happened just four months earlier.
Messi was 27 when he played against West Ham’s youth team. The previous season, he scored 41 goals across 46 appearances for Barcelona. And that was an average year by his astonishing standards at the time, having registered 53 goals in 2010-11, 73 in 2011-12 and 60 in 2012-13.
Josh Pask, 27, who now plays in the Welsh league for The New Saints, laughs as he discusses a video that has since gone viral of Messi going past him.
“I remember Messi receiving the ball on the right and dribbling past me and four other defenders,” he says. “I just started laughing. Then he dinks it over our goalkeeper. I thought, ‘Wow, Messi is running at me’. Seeing what he does on TV, then getting a first experience of it was amazing.
“One of my team-mates recently asked, ‘Who is the best player you’ve played against?’ I said, ‘You won’t believe me, but it’s Messi’. Then I explained to him about the day I played against him. Then a few days later, that video went viral and I sent it to him.
“What’s funny about that day is, we were training and our academy manager Terry Westley said, ‘Argentina’s first team is going to train against us’. My response was, ‘Is this a joke?’ — I thought he was pulling our leg.
“The club wanted to keep it on the hush, because they knew people would flood the area. (But) It got leaked and there were loads of people outside the training ground. When we got to Rush Green (West Ham’s training ground), I lost count of the amount of security guards I saw.
“All the lads just wanted to speak to and take pictures with the players. It is a day we all became fanboys. We were about to play against Messi, Tevez and all these top players. We were in awe of them, especially Messi.
“We couldn’t get near the ball. Messi, Aguero and Di Maria came off and on came Tevez, (Gonzalo) Higuain and (Ezequiel) Lavezzi. They subbed world-class players and brought on world-class players. That always stuck in my mind. The quality was ridiculous. The following day we played against their subs and theyscored six goals in 20 minutes.”
Kieran Sadlier, 30, now a midfielder for League One side Wycombe Wanderers, recalls that Argentina weren’t taking it easy on them. “I initially thought it was going to be Argentina Under-21s,” he deadpans. “Then I looked online at their squad and saw it was the senior side.
“It was a night game, we trained in the morning and everyone at West Ham was there to see Messi. No one cared about the other players. Their manager (Tata Martino) wanted to have a proper game for about an hour.
“I played right wing and I thought they were going to take it lightly on us. I remember dribbling and their centre-back (Federico) Fazio smashed my ankle. I remember thinking, ‘S**t, I didn’t think it was going to be like this’. We couldn’t tackle them because we would’ve got in trouble.
“I gave the ball away for one of their goals and Messi scored. Probably my best assist ever! I managed to get a picture with Messi but I wish I got his shirt. We were told to not bother them but it’s hard to do that when it’s Messi, who’s the best player of all time.”
Ben Marlow also featured in that training ground match.
Now 29, he was released by West Ham in 2015 and went on to play for a string of non-League clubs in the London area before retiring this June due to a persistent knee injury. Although he has a new career, nothing will quite surpass the events of that evening in November 2014.
“I thought it was a wind-up but the moment I saw Messi I knew it was real,” Marlow says. “The whole experience was surreal.
“A ‘pinch me’ moment. I remember they brought off Aguero, Messi and Di Maria. I thought, ‘Finally, I can have a breather’. Then Tevez, (Javier) Pastore and (Erik) Lamela come on. The quality they had was ridiculous. After the match, Messi had about seven security guards around him. I couldn’t get close to him.
“The local school got wind that Messi was at the training ground. Some of the kids tried to climb over the gates. It was an unbelievable night and the best moment of my career.
“No one believes me when I say I played against Messi. I’m a gardener now and when I mention it, people often say, ‘You’re talking a load of rubbish’. But when I show them the pictures, they say, ‘Wow, you actually have’. Ten years on, it’s a moment that will stay with me forever. Messi being in Romford felt weird. Then he ends up being the best thing I’ve ever seen.”
After glittering spells at Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, Messi joined Major League Soccerside Inter Miami in July 2023. Last Saturday, the 37-year-old’s side were eliminated in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs, losing 3-2 to Atlanta Unitedin the deciding match of a best-of-three series. For Lletget, facing him in MLS has been a chance to atone for what happened in east London a decade ago.
“I played against Messi for FC Dallas,” he says. “To compete in an actual match was special. I hugged him after the game and finally got my picture! It’s gone full circle for me, and another moment I will always cherish.”
