Real Madrid 'tried to sign Messi' from Barcelona

Suraj Radia

• 11 Sept 2024 17:15 BST
• 3 min read

Lionel Messi is undoubtedly a Barcelona legend but things could have been so different for the Inter Miami superstar after it was revealed that Real Madrid, of all teams, had attempted to sign the forward.

Messi moved to Barca as a 13-year-old in 2000, having scored more than 500 goals in six years for the academy of his childhood club Newell’s Old Boys.

Alongside the likes of Cesc Fabregas and Gerard Pique, Messi formed part of Barcelona’s ‘Baby Dream Team’, largely dubbed the greatest-ever youth team produced by the La Masia academy.

READ MORE: Lionel Messi at Inter Miami: Goals, assists, results & fixtures in 2024

Messi’s form in the academy during the 2002/03 season saw him and his teammates attract interest from some of Europe’s top sides, with Pique moving to Manchester United and Fabregas joining Arsenal.

Messi was also approached by Arsenal but his former agent Horacia Gaggioli has revealed that Real Madrid also attempted to sign the Argentine, however the player’s loyalty to Barca prevented any exit.

"Real Madrid were interested when Messi was young, when he was 16-17 years old, but Leo never wanted to leave Barcelona,” Gaggioli told Kooora via MARCA. “Arsenal showed interest in Messi when he started, but the response was the same.”

’Forced’ Barcelona departure was ‘difficult’ for Messi

Messi ended up becoming arguably Barcelona’s greatest ever player before sensationally leaving in 2021 for Paris Saint-Germain with the Catalan club unable to afford his new contract.

Barca’s financial situation meant that a return could not be agreed when Messi left PSG in 2023 to join Inter Miami and Gaggioli admitted that the whole ordeal was ‘very difficult’ for Messi.

READ MORE: Barcelona wages: How much does each player earn?

“It was a very difficult time,” he said. “Leo didn't want to leave Barcelona, but circumstances arose that forced him to do so.”

Gaggioli also opened up on the famous napkin that Messi’s original proposal was written on when Barca first brought him over to Spain from Argentina as a child.

“That handkerchief was not a contract, but a commitment to sign the player,” he said. “That handkerchief was the reason that changed the modern history of Barcelona and Messi.”

The napkin was eventually sold for at an auction earlier this year for more than €700,000 – a figure which Gaggioli refused to confirm, although he admitted it was a ‘high amount’.