Who assisted Messi's first goal for Barcelona?

Ronaldinho assisted Messi’s first goal for Barcelona. The landmark goal came against Albacete at Camp Nou on 1 May 2005, when Messi was still a 17-year-old emerging from Barcelona’s academy.

Messi entered the match late as a substitute for Samuel Eto’o. Ronaldinho then lifted a delicate pass over the Albacete defence, allowing Messi to chip goalkeeper Raúl Valbuena. The goal made Messi Barcelona’s youngest league goalscorer at the time, a record later surpassed by Bojan Krkić.

The moment was especially symbolic because Ronaldinho was already Barcelona’s leading star and had welcomed Messi into the senior squad. Earlier in the same match, Messi had put the ball in the net from a similar combination, but that effort was ruled offside. His officially recognised goal stood and helped Barcelona win 2–0.

Readers sometimes confuse this with Messi’s first appearance or first goal in another competition. His first-team debut came in 2004, while the Albacete match marked his first official senior goal for Barcelona.