‘My dream was to be a footballer, I spent all day with a ball’: Messi to BYJU'S co-founder Divya Gokulnath

“My dream since childhood was to be a footballer, I spent all day with a ball,” football legend Lionel Messi told Divya Gokulnath, co-founder of BYJU’S in an interview on Wednesday. Messi is the brand ambassador of the edtech platform. Gokulnath asked the FIFA world cup champion which profession he would have taken up, if he was not a footballer. 
 
To which Messi replied that he doesn’t really know because he has always dreamt of being a footballer. And he believes he is lucky as he has been able to fulfill his childhood dream. He also said, “I don’t know whether it is good or bad, but it was my identity since I was little and the only thing I thought about.”
 
Messi also revealed that he has changed after becoming a father. Messi is the father of three boys- Ciro, Mateo and Thiago. He said that now he is able to take his defeats and losses in stride, thanks to the support of his family. “Obviously, the defeats still hurt but when you get home with your family, you try to forget a little bit about your professional life.”
 
Gokulnath also asked Messi his strategy to bounce back from a loss. Messi explained that there are different kinds of losses. But there are some which hurt more than others and take longer to heal. “In any case, time heals all of them in the end, whether or not they are forgotten.” He clarified that as time passes, one thinks less about his or her failures. He also advised, “Focus on what is coming rather than what has already happened.”
 
In November last year, the company onboarded Messi as the brand ambassador.
 
The Softbank-backed edtech giant received immense backlash for this as the announcement came amid layoffs and growth-related challenges. Byju Raveendran, Founder and CEO of the company addressed the issue in an email he sent to the employees on the occasion of New Year’s. 
 
“Speaking of Messi, it all worked out well in the end for him, didn’t it? A little bit of faith at every step, and a lifetime of learning - this is the not-so-secret formula for his success. There is a lot for us to learn from him and we are privileged to be able to,” he wrote in the email. 
 

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