In his prime, Lionel Messi was ‘persuaded’ to sign with a shock Premier League club, but the contract was cancelled by an ex-teammate.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner could have had a very different career path.
Luke Davies, Alfred
Davies, Luke Alfred
According to reports, Jose Mourinho persuaded Lionel Messi to join Chelsea in 2014, however the deal fell through when a Premier League player “stopped” the transfer even though personal terms had been “agreed.”
Having won two Premier League titles during his previous tenure, Mourinho, at sixty-two, was in his second stint as Chelsea’s head coach.
According to Sky Sports, the west London team was prepared to “activate” a €250 million release clause in Messi’s contract and even give the former Barcelona striker £50 million a season in exchange for his services.
Journalist Gianluca Di Marzio asserted in his 2014 book Grand Hotel Calciomercato that Messi was convinced to consider joining Chelsea after a video conference between Mourinho and Messi.
According to the book, Messi’s love for Mourinho and the “charm” of London made the transfer an alluring offer. The two were to go out to lunch together.
Despite his efforts to convince the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner to switch, Mourinho attempted to win Messi over and even acknowledged that “they’ll build you a statue” at Barcelona.
Mourinho reportedly said to Messi: “Yes, you will have to open the gate of happiness again if one morning you wake up, eat breakfast at the training ground, but the coffee doesn’t taste the same, the sky turns grey all of a sudden, you don’t like your car anymore, you feel depressed on the way home, you’re not happy, your family is not happy, well, in that dark and gloomy moment of your life. And I, Jose Mourinho, will be waiting for you behind that gate.”
Chelsea was apparently preparing an offer by July 2014, and even Cesc Fabregas, the Blues’ new signing, was giddy with anticipation at the prospect of Messi playing at Stamford Bridge.
Leo’s father Jorge, who was not aware of the conversations, was a major source of contention, though. Fabregas “told” Deco, who was then an agent and is currently Barcelona’s sporting director. The Portuguese surprised Messi’s father by telling him about the discussions, which led Jorge to question Leo about it.
According to reports, Messi said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, I swear,”
Messi remained at Barcelona until 2021, when he moved to Paris Saint-Germain, and then in 2023, he moved to Inter Miami, where he currently plays.
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