Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has revealed that the club attempted to sign Argentinian ace Lionel Messi when the striker was just 15-years old.
Wenger reportedly attempted to sign Messi from the Barcelona Academy during the same time period as when they signed Cesc Fabregas, though they failed to lure the teenager away from Spain when the club couldn’t find suitable accommodation for his family, who wanted to move to London with him.
“I think in the end, he was not so keen to move,” Wenger said. “It was at a period where Fabregas came, and Fabregas and Messi played together in the same team at Barcelona Academy.
“We wanted to take Fabregas, Messi and Pique. It worked only for Fabregas. It was not completely down to a flat in the end. It was down to the fact that, in the end, Messi was comfortable at Barcelona.”
There have been multiple rumours over the years regarding a potential move away from Barcelona for Messi, though thus far the striker has spent all of his professional career in Spain.
We’re sure that Wenger is now kicking himself that the club opted to not pay for Messi’s family to join him when they attempted to sign him to the Emirates.
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