‘Messi’ presented in Barcelona at World Supporters Clubs Congress

The new ‘MESSI’ movie directed by Álex de la Iglesia and produced by MEDIAPRO, is to be screened at the XXXV World Supporters Clubs Congress being held this weekend in Barcelona. Made in Argentina and Barcelona with a script by Jorge Valdano, it will be shown on Sunday afternoon at the Palau de Congressos de Barcelona, and will be introduced by Jordi Basté, one of the many people who appear in the film, which include Menotti, Maradona, Valdano and Cruyff.

‘MESSI’ tells the story of one of the greatest footballers of all time through the opinions of major sporting personalities, people close to him, team-mates, coaches and many more, plus archive footage, interviews and previously unseen family recordings. Other moments in his life have been recreated with actors. The movie was first presented in Rio at the Brazil 2014 World Cup and will be shown on September 6 at the Venice Festival.

As they meet for supper, his teachers, coaches, childhood friends, Barça team-mates, journalists, writers and major figures from the football world discuss and analyse some of the most important moments in the player’s life, including his childhood passion for the game, his decision to leave Rosario for Barcelona, his separation from his family, the role of such people as Ronaldinho, Rijkaard, Rexach and Guardiola, his first goal at the Camp Nou, the night at Stamford Bridge, his links with Argentina and Rosario, and the natural comparisons with Maradona, which Johan Cruyff explains in his typical manner: “Thank God that Messi exists. If he had not, we would still have to speak of Maradona, and that’s absurd. So it is not a case of making comparisons, but of enjoyment”.

Álex de la Iglesia has recreated the player’s upbringing, all of which helps to understand such things as his peculiar way of celebrating goals, his special relationship with his grandmother and the tenacity and determination that brought him from Rosario to the centre stage of world football. The movie was filmed in Buenos Aires, Rosario and Barcelona.