French striker Marcus Thuram talked about the time he met Messi when he was a child
The defender would team up with Lionel Messi in the latter two years of his Barca career.
Thuram even received a pair of boots from the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner after seeing his father during practise.
The 26-year-old, who now regrets the decision more than 15 years later, admitted that he gave the boots away the following day.
“At the age of 10, I went to see my father training at Barca, and I didn’t have my boots with me,” he stated to DAZN Italia.
“When Messi was little, I wanted to play on the pitch with the other kids after training.
“I gave them to a friend the following day because, at the age of ten, I was unaware of what had just happened. Every day I regret it.”
Before Thuram’s father retired from Barça in 2008, Messi and him played together 39 times.
However, Thuram has since faced the Inter star in his career, having set up Kylian Mbappe’s second goal in the World Cup final of the previous year.
The forward, who joined the Serie A powerhouses from Borussia Monchengladbach in the summer, made that appearance in his first of 13 caps for his country.
His younger brother Khephren, who made his debut in March, is also a France international.
Earlier this year, there were strong rumours that the Nice midfielder would be joining Liverpool.
