Claim: Twitter users have shared a video that purportedly features young Lionel Messi showing ball-juggling skills with Ronaldinho in the past and the present.
Verdict: False. TalkSport, a sports radio station and news reports, attribute the football kid to Cristian Ceballos, not Lionel Messi.
Full Text
Former Barcelona forwards Lionel Messi and Ronaldinho Gaúcho are two of the most skilful and fascinating football players to have ever graced the sport. Their exceptional abilities on the field have left fans, opponents, and analysts in awe, as they consistently demonstrated a level of control and creativity in their style of play.
However, a video has gone viral on Twitter, with users attributing a kid showcasing his football skills with Ronaldinho to suggest he is Miami’s forward Messi. The footage purportedly captures both their past and present in the football journey.
Users, including @FrankKhalidUK, a sports journalist, shared the video with the caption,
“Then and now, Lionel Messi and Ronaldinho.” His post has amassed over seven million views and over 100,000 likes.
Another user, ValaAfshar, who republished the video on August 19, 2023, added a caption that says, “Messi broke into the Barcelona team alongside his hero, playing and training with Ronaldinho for four seasons. Messi’s first ever goal for FC Barcelona was assisted by Ronaldinho on May 1, 2005.”
His post has also amassed over 100,000 views and 1,000 likes as of writing this report.
Verification
DUBAWA conducted a Google reverse image search on the first clip of the video and discovered that the young footballer is not Lionel Messi but Cristian Ceballos from Spain.
The search directed DUBAWA to a YouTube video published on March 15, 2006, titled “Ronaldinho vs Youngster Cristian Ceballos. In the one-minute 17 seconds video, Ronaldinho is training with other young footballers on a pitch. The clip where Ronaldinho is seen displaying football skills with the kid was captured from the first 30 seconds of the video.
A further search revealed a short documentary of the then-kid Cristian Ceballos showing his football skills with Barcelona’s former star Ronaldinho. The video’s title reads, “Cristian Ceballos – Barcelona’s boy wonder.” The clip can be seen from the 1st minute of the 4 minutes 30 seconds video published on YouTube on July 27, 2007.
Other TikTok users have also shared the video with the title Ronaldinho and Cristian Ceballos.
A news report by TalkSport, a sports radio station and the official broadcaster of the Premier League on October 12, 2012, also published a news report profiling Cristian Ceballos. The report also included the video of him with Ronaldinho in his profile.
Conclusion
The video with a kid showing ball-juggling skills with Ronaldinho, not Lionel Messi but Cristian Ceballos.
