During his 19-year career, Kevin-Prince Boateng spent time at Tottenham, Portsmouth, and AC Milan. He joined Barcelona in January 2019 on a loan agreement that would last through till the end of the campaign.
He would later make five appearances for the Catalan team and win both the La Liga and Spanish Super Cup.
In this place, he would also develop friendships with some of the top players in the world, albeit Lionel Messi seldom ever spoke to the former Ghanaian international. In fact, they only ever talked together once.
In an interview with Rio Ferdinand for his VIBE with FIVE podcast, Boateng discussed that conversation in detail.
“Messi is the captain but doesn’t speak. We spoke one time in the shower because he asked if it’s difficult to score in Italy because Ronaldo was there at that time, and he showed the rivalry between them.”
“I told him that it was more difficult that Ronaldo was there, and he scored every game for three years. People forget too easily what he’s done there.”
Boateng also disclosed that when he joined Barcelona, he was “forced” to lie and claim that Lionel Messi was the finest player in the world.
“I remember that when I arrived in Barcelona they immediately asked me who the best player in the world was. I had to say it was Lionel Messi, I lied. It was one of the biggest lies of my life.”
“Normally I always tell the truth, but I lied because it was the only way to wear the Barcelona shirt. I always supported Real Madrid when I was a teenager. I love Cristiano Ronaldo. But they told me I had to say that, otherwise I wouldn’t play.”