I was 20 when I first heard Lionel Messi’s name.One of the Barcelona youth coaches told me about this kid from Argentina who was coming over to join the academy. He said he had never seen anything like him. To be honest, I was sceptical. Loads of promising kids pass through the Barcelona system. My view was that you could only judge a player when they made it to the first team.He said to me, “Xavi, this one’s different.”I remember seeing clips of Messi on Barcelona’s in-house TV channel in the years that followed. His tricks, his goals… those ones where he dribbled past four or five defenders, then rounded the goalkeeper. He looked like a supernatural talent, but so did a lot of youngsters. They only used to put their best moments on the channel.Lionel Messi controls the ball during a private photo session for El Gráfico magazine in Rosario, Argentina, in 2003 (Marcelo Boeri/El Grafico/Getty Images)In 2004, that same coach sent me a message: “That Argentine I told you about is training with you tomorrow.” OK, I thought. It’s time to see what this kid is really made of.I still remember that first training session. The way he controlled the ball, the way he dribbled, the way he passed, the way he linked up with his team-mates… he could do it all. He was a phenomenon.I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Nor could the other senior players — Carles Puyol, Victor Valdes, Deco, Ronaldinho. We just looked at each other, as if to say, “This isn’t normal.” Leo was only 16 and he was pretty much the best player at the club, immediately.He was a hard-working boy and a fierce competitor, incredibly aggressive on and off the ball, very hungry. Whenever he went forward, there was no showing off, no fancy footwork; he was direct, a one-track mind. My goodness, the way that kid attacked the goal… it was a rare sight. Even at Barcelona, you didn’t see that sort of talent.Leo was shy and introverted away from football. I shared a room with him on a tour of Asia, not long after he joined the senior squad. He used to ask my permission just to turn on the TV. I told him, “Relax, it’s fine, you don’t answer to me.” I tried to put him at ease, to make him feel comfortable.Xavi and Messi celebrate Barcelona’s Champions League final success in Rome in 2009 (Mark Leech/Offside/Getty Images)On the pitch, we were talking constantly. He’d say, “Maki, this guy is sticking too close to me, find me in behind,” and he’d get away from his marker with a deep run. Sometimes I would see him looking restless because he wasn’t touching the ball. I’d say to him, “Come back, come back.” He would drop closer to me, closer to Andres Iniesta, to Busi (Sergio Busquets), to where the action was. The more Leo touched the ball, the more the team stood to benefit. We wanted him to feel happy and get him involved in the game.It was easy playing with him. Very easy. If you can’t combine with Messi, you can’t play football; it’s as simple as that. When you pass to Leo, he’ll play it back to you perfectly, at just the right moment. And always to your good foot. As someone who always loved to pass the ball, it was a privilege to play with him. Leo made me a better footballer. I tried to do my bit for him, too.