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Messi wasn't 'anything special' on his Barcelona debut, says Espanyol defender who marked him

Former Espanyol left-back David Garcia had the honour of being the first man to mark Lionel Messi and has declared that the Argentine wasn't anything special on that day back in 2004.

Just a teenager at the time, Messi made his professional debut against Espanyol as he came on for the final seven minutes in a 1-0 win.

Given he had just a few moments to impress in the game, the Argentine had little impact, with Garcia comfortably dealing with a player that would go on to become one of the best ever.

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"We knew who he was, both me and the Espanyol youth players.