06 November 2023 , 14:27
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Former Barcelona, Roma and Stoke City star Bojan Krkic insists young players rising through the heralded La Masia academy should not try to follow Lionel Messi's example.
Bojan, 33, retired this year after a stint playing for Vissell Kobe in Japan, and he has made it clear he is not comfortable with the fast-track policy used by Barcelona in recent years. Gavi, Pedri, Lamine Yamal and Marc Guiu are some of the latest talents to be rushed into first-team action, and although they have thrived, Bojan knows all too well the challenges of being thrown in at the deep end at such a young age, particularly when being measured against Inter Miami star Messi, who won his eighth Ballon d'Or last week.
Bojan, who debuted aged just 17 back in 2007 amid feverish hype over his potential, has since revealed in a documentary he suffered from panic attacks due to the pressure of playing for one of Europe's biggest clubs at such a tender age. And he believes young players need to have more realistic perceptions of what success means, rather than comparing themselves to, arguably, the greatest player of all time.
“[The documentary] was something I’ve always wanted to do. Transfer my experiences as a player. What people think is very beautiful, but where there is suffering and effort," he told Diario AS. "I wanted to explain what I experienced.
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"The reason for my decisions giving a positive message. It is not a documentary just for football fans, it goes further, it talks about personal situations and sends the message that Messi is not the example.
“Neither Messi nor Cristiano [Ronaldo] nor Rafa Nadal are ordinary cases, they cannot be the example for young people. They are extraordinary. Success is not that, it is only going to happen to them.
"Success can be applied to many scenarios. For me Sergio Canales is a successful athlete because he has torn his knee three times and has made it to the national team. Joselu, at 33 years old, has arrived in [Real] Madrid. These situations are successful.”
Bojan believes young players should have more realistic aspirations and definitions of what success means, rather than relentlessly pursuing icons like Lionel Messi. (Jorge Guerrero/AFP via Getty Images)While Barcelona's young talents may be making a positive impact on the pitch, Bojan – who won a single cap for Spain in 2008 – insists the fast-track policy – more common in recent years due to Barca's well-documented financial woes – should only be reserved for the most elite talents. He believes it is not fair to put young people in that environment.
“A 15-year-old boy already wants to go to train with the reserve team and the 16-year-old boy wants to go to train with the first team, we are normalising something that is not normal," he added.
“The economic issue has a lot of influence because the teams are as they are and it is almost obligatory to bet on young people. The situation makes everyone run too fast and we should all stop it. We are talking about kids at the age of education, children who we should talk to.
“The ideal would be to grow in your own academy. We have to give value to the player who is in the youth team, giving value to being in the youth team, not wanting to move up. This is how you give value to arriving in the first team, because there is a lot of merit in reaching the first team of Madrid, Valencia or City. You have to make the effort valued.”