More of Boateng's anecdotes - Ronaldinho's party time and no-mistake Messi

In 2010, Kevin Prince Boateng and Ronaldinho played half a season together in the AC Milan jersey, but they represented a stronger tandem in the Milan nightlife than on the field. The then 31-year-old Brazilian apparently did not mind that the guy from Ghana was seven years younger. Obviously, Ronaldinho also liked Boateng's boyish energy, so there was an attempt to get his younger colleague out of the house before dawn.

Boateng recalled one such event in a relaxed conversation with Rio Ferdinand in the FIVE podcast of the legendary Manchester United defender.

"Sometimes we partied together. My wife would stay at home, I always told her I was going to play poker. One night my phone vibrated. I think it was four in the morning. I saw Ronnie calling me. The wife woke up, 'What's wrong, answer that'. But I didn't want to answer because I knew he was out somewhere, probably drunk at a party," Boateng recalled.

Ronaldinho was persistent, the phone didn't stop ringing...

"I turned the volume down so she wouldn't hear his loud speech. 'Where are you,' he yelled into the receiver, I heard loud music in the background. I replied that I was in bed, 'Come here. Tell the wife you're going to play poker.' the woman overheard him though and realized that every time I told her I was at poker, I was actually on a night out."

Boateng also played for Barcelona for a short time. He joined Sassuolo on loan in January 2019 and stayed until the end of the season. He has spent enough time at Camp Nou to share first-hand great anecdotes about Lionel Messi.

"He was sitting in the dressing room before the game with his phone in his hands while they were massaging him. Two minutes later we went out on the field... Warm-up, long balls, control, dribbling, the crossbar challenge during the warm-up before the game with Liverpool in the Champions League. we went to the dressing room, the coach (Valverde) was giving the last instructions and Messi is still on the phone with a smile on his face. The coach was suggesting to him what to do, how to move. He was on a video call during that time and he just casually answered 'Yes, yes, it's OK, it's agreed'. And then he went out on the field, put on his cloak and worked his magic... Crazy," Boateng said, and then explained how dangerous it was to identify with Messi, to think that you can do the same as him.

"Barcelona's young players would often get carried away and try to imitate him. They would watch him, try to repeat it in training, and then they would get injured. Malcom, Dembele... They would always get injured."

Boateng recalled Ter Stegen's frustrations from training that Messi was forever causing.

"I'll tell you honestly - Messi doesn't make mistakes. No, I'm serious. He doesn't make mistakes. We'd practice shots outside the penalty area. Messi? Out of 100 shots, he'd score 98 goals. I'm telling you, that's not normal. Every shot towards Ter Stegen went into the corner. I would say to him in German, 'Come on, man, save something', and he would say to me, 'No way, he only sends them into the corners'. When the ball didn't go in, we thought he was sick, had a fever. The man did not miss against a goalkeeper like Ter Stegen. And if sometimes he didn't score, it would only be because of some unreal reaction by the goalkeeper."