By now, even with Cristiano Ronaldo on the same planet, Lionel Messi is commonly regarded as the greatest player in the world, and, perhaps, the greatest of all-time.

The Argentinian magician scored his 500th goal for Barcelona recently when he netted the last-gasp winner in El Clascio against Real Madrid.

He now has 502 to his name and it's not only the amount of goals he has scored, but the big-game situations that he has done it in.

After all, he is the record goalscorer in El Clasico and has scored more away goals against Real Madrid than any other team. That's special.

But, for all the accolades Messi has had bestowed upon him recently - and he's still on 29-years-old - it's worth remembering it has taken him 12 years to get here.

In fact, 12 years ago today, he scored his first ever goal for Barcelona against Albacete and, true to form, it was something special.

It's believed Ronaldinho, who was easily the best player in the world at the time, took a then 17-year-old Messi under his wing and referred to him as 'little brother' as soon as he began training with the first team.

So it is fitting that the Brazilian legend provided a sumptuous assist for the young Messi for his first goal and the future five-time Ballon d'Or produced what would become a textbook lob finish.

Messi's first goal for the club could have actually come sooner, too. The heir to Ronaldinho's throne scored a goal nearly identical to his eventual finish - with the same provider and scoop pass - but it was ruled out for offside.

Watch from 30 seconds in the video below, they are literally almost identical.

What a goal it was. We should have known back then he was destined for huge, huge things.

Former teammate Ludovic Giuly once described the impression Messi made once he started training with the first team.

"He destroyed us all... They were kicking him all over the place to avoid being ridiculed by this kid, he just got up and kept on playing. He would dribble past four players and score a goal. Even the team's starting centre-backs were nervous. He was an alien."