“Messi: The Forgotten Tape” Coming Soon To Disney+ In The UK

Disney has announced that a brand new short film documentary, “Messi: The Forgotten Tape”, will be coming soon to Disney+ in the UK.

This documentary uncovers one of the most consequential and little-known stories in modern football history and highlights the pivotal moment that helped shape Lionel Messi’s international future and altered the trajectory of global football. 

In 2004, as the internet was still in its early stages, the news that a young Argentine was tearing it up in Spain was slow to arrive in his native South American country. So, when a 16-year-old Lionel Messi was beginning to turn heads in FC Barcelona, the federation couldn’t believe this young player, who was on course to obtain Spanish citizenship, was still not representing a nation. 

A VHS tape with highlights of the young phenom was commissioned for a Barça TV journalist to put together and hand-delivered to an Argentine National Football Team assistant coach in hopes that this would lead to a call-up.

The tape would travel across the world and quietly set in motion a pivotal decision between Spain and Argentina, culminating in a story never-before-told in a documentary: how two friendly matches were quickly scheduled by the Argentine Football Association with one purpose — to secure Lionel Messi’s future with Argentina.

The documentary was previously released on ESPN in the United States in May and will be coming to Disney+ on June 9th 2026.

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