The short-list of legends is too strong to ignore.
These were not stars who succeeded in spite of their size. Their bodies were part of their football identity. The quick turn, the short dribble, the ability to absorb contact and stay upright - all of it mattered.
The strongest lesson may come from youth development. The update says Messi was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency as a child at Newell’s Old Boys, with treatment costing around US$1,000 per month. When that path closed, Barcelona stepped in and secured one of the defining players in football history.
There is a second warning in the Barcelona academy story. The report says wrist X-rays were once used to estimate whether youngsters would grow beyond 1.80m, a process later ended by Johan Cruyff. The point is obvious: rigid filters can miss elite football brains.
Height still helps in specific roles. Thibaut Courtois at 6'7" covers huge space in goal. Edwin van der Sar, at 6'6", paired reach with calm distribution. Erling Haaland, measured at 195.2 cm in his Manchester City medical in 2022, is proof that size can be devastating when matched with timing and movement.
But even at the far end of the scale, stature is not a guarantee. The report’s nod to Simon Bloch Jørgensen and Accrington Stanley underlines that point.
As clubs head into another season and, reportedly, another wave of squad-building - with other reports suggesting both Barcelona and Manchester City remain active in the market - the next storyline is familiar. Recruitment departments will keep searching for the ideal profile. The smart ones will remember there isn’t just one.