They will premiere a documentary about how Messi chose to play with Argentina and not with Spain

MIAMI. – The sports network ESPN will premiere this Sunday the documentary “Messi: The Forgotten Tape,” a production that will reveal unpublished details about the process that led Lionel Messi to represent Argentina in international soccer instead of playing for Spain. According to the television station, the audiovisual will show the decisive moment that marked the sporting future of the Argentine star and changed the history of world football. The documentary goes back to 2004, when Messi, at just 16 years old, shone in the lower categories of FC Barcelona and was in the process of obtaining Spanish nationality, a situation that opened the possibility of joining the Spanish national team. The production tells how a journalist from Barça TV compiled the best plays of the young footballer on a VHS tape and gave it to an assistant coach of the Argentine national team, at a time when the internet did not yet have its current reach. According to ESPN, that tape was key for the Argentine Football Association to speed up efforts and quickly organize friendly matches with the aim of securing Messi for the albiceleste before Spain could officially call him up. The premiere of the documentary is scheduled for this Sunday, May 10th at 5:30 PM, Eastern Time, and will subsequently be available internationally on Disney+. With the Argentine national team, Messi won the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, in addition to winning the 2021 and 2024 editions of the Copa América and obtaining the Olympic gold medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.