There are many football fans that believe Lionel Messi is the greatest footballer ever - and it’s hard to argue with them.

The Argentine has won five Ballon d’Ors and has helped Barcelona win eight La Ligas titles and four Champions Leagues.

But everyone at Barcelona knew Messi was destined for greatness from an early age.

The forward showed his incredible potential long before he made his first-team debut at the age of 16.

And before he appeared for the senior side for the first time, Messi was busy taking La Masia by storm.

How do we know that? Well, Barcelona have released previously unseen footage of a 15-year-old Messi representing Barcelona Under 16’s - and it shows he was always head and shoulders above everyone on the pitch.

In the YouTube video published by their official channel, they wrote:

“In the 2002/03 season, Lionel Messi played for FC Barcelona's Under-16 squad under head coach Àlex García. It was the only season during his time in Barça's youth academy that the young Argentinian started and finished a season on the same team. The following campaign, Messi played in four different categories, ascending from the Under-17 team to Barça B.

“Today the Barça TV program Promesas has released never-before-seen video of Messi's U-16 season, when the 15-year-old was already exhibiting great talent and enormous potential. Many of the moves that dazzled his teammates and rivals ended up becoming commonplace occurrences year after year, even today, as the striker continues to demonstrate that his level of play knows no limits. This unprecedented video shows incredible images of the young Messi's goals, assists and precocious play, straight from the archives of Barça TV, which found these previously unpublished videos from the Barça star's days as a youth player.”

Take a look:

Fourteen years later, and Messi has fulfilled his potential - and then some.

However, he will have to be at his very best to save his club and country in the coming months.

His Barcelona side are two points behind Real Madrid in the league having played a game more, while they face a tough test against Juventus in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Their best chance of a trophy this season comes in the form of the Copa del Rey, where they face Alaves in the final at the end of the season.

For Argentina, though, things are looking rather bleak.

Messi received a four-match ban for abusing officials during their 1-0 victory over Chile, meaning he will only be available for the final match of their South American qualification group.

Messi’s nation already face a tough test to qualify for the Russian World Cup and their task has just been made a lot harder without their star man.