Lionel Messi 2006 Barcelona ‘El Clasico’ Match Worn Shirt | Among the Earliest Known Photomatched Messi Shirts | Signed by Guti

This FC Barcelona shirt was worn by Lionel Messi in the second half of the El Clásico versus Real Madrid on October 22nd, 2006 at the Santiago Bernabéu.

This shirt has been photomatched by Sports Investors Authentication and is accompanied by letters and photomatch graphics. The shirt also features a signature from Real Madrid’s Guti, who Messi swapped shirts with after the game and is accompanied with a letter from James Spence Authentication in regards to the signature. The lot also features a ticket from the match.

Worn by a 19-year-old Messi, this is his earliest known photomatched shirt, and a formative artifact in the career of one of football’s most celebrated icons. 

In a match brimming with intensity and historic rivalry, Messi was among the standout performers despite Barcelona’s 2–0 defeat. Operating from the right wing, he continually unbalanced the Real Madrid defense with his hallmark dribbling, acceleration, and vision. He played a key role in the buildup to Barcelona’s best attacking movements and was repeatedly fouled as Madrid struggled to contain him.

Worn against a backdrop of world-class talent, Messi shared the pitch with Ronaldinho, Fabio Cannavaro, Roberto Carlos, Iker Casillas, and David Beckham—who entered as a second-half substitute. The presence of such luminaries only amplifies the historical significance of this shirt, worn by the youngest among them, poised on the edge of a transformative career.

Still bearing the number 19—prior to Messi’s fabled ascension to the number 10, succeeding Barcelona legend Ronaldinho—this shirt is a symbol of emergence, promise, and the quiet birth of a new footballing era.

The 2006–07 Season: The Breakthrough Year

The 2006–07 campaign is widely considered Lionel Messi’s first full season as a senior team regular at FC Barcelona. At just 19 years of age, he began to establish himself not simply as a rising star, but as a player capable of shifting matches at the highest level. Under manager Frank Rijkaard, Messi formed a fluid attacking trident alongside Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto’o, and in spite of injury setbacks, he recorded 14 goals and 3 assists in just 26 appearances in La Liga.

Among the highlights of the season was Messi’s sensational hat-trick against Real Madrid in the return leg of El Clásico in March 2007, making him the youngest player in history to score a Clásico treble. Just weeks later, he would score what many regard as the greatest goal of his career—and among the greatest in football history—against Getafe in the Copa del Rey, echoing Diego Maradona’s “Goal of the Century.”

The 2006–07 season was not Barcelona’s most successful in terms of silverware, but it marked the unmistakable arrival of a new genius. For Messi, it was the year the world took notice.

A Career Without Equal

Lionel Messi’s career defies simple summary. With a record eight Ballon d’Or awards, four UEFA Champions League titles, and ten La Liga championships, he stands as the most decorated footballer of his era. As of 2025, he holds the records for most goals in a calendar year, most goals for a single club, and most assists in football history. Beyond numbers, Messi has redefined the language of the sport—melding vision, control, agility, and humility into a style all his own.

His crowning international triumph came at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, where he led Argentina to glory in Qatar, securing the final jewel in his illustrious crown and fulfilling a lifelong dream for his nation. That performance, capping a career of almost unfathomable consistency and brilliance, silenced any lingering debate: Lionel Messi is, by nearly every measure, the greatest footballer the world has ever seen.

This shirt, worn in one of his earliest iconic matches, is not merely a part of Messi’s history—it is a piece of football’s collective memory. A garment that bridges the beginning of a career with the legacy it would go on to define.