"Leo wants to come here!" - When Lionel Messi almost joined Chelsea from Barcelona because of Jose Mourinho
It was the summer of 2014 when former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho nearly convinced Barcelona legend Lionel Messi to come to Stamford Bridge. Having been at the club for more than a decade, the Argentine was apparently contemplating a shock departure.
Messi's release clause was €250 million at the time, and the Blues were ready to trigger it and pay the player £50 million per season, as revealed by Sky Sports' Gianluca Di Marzio.
The Argentine's thought of leaving Barca and Spain stemmed from the tax evasion probe initiated by the Spanish government in 2013 against Messi's family. However, the proposed move apparently collapsed after Messi's father, Jorge, and his then temmate Deco got involved, despite the Argentine agreeing personal terms with the Blues.
In his Grand Hotel Calciomercato, as per Sky Sports in 2020, Di Marzio wrote that a video call by Mourinho had convinced Messi to make the switch. He also claimed that even Real Madrid contemplated an audacious move for their arch-rivals' best player, only to be turned down.
Then Blues player Cesc Fabregas - who had recently arrived from Barcelona - told Mourinho in July that year:
"Gaffer, Leo wants to come here! It's incredible! We've been friends for as long as I can remember, it would be unbelievable. … Deco called me to tell me and you, as you're not picking up his calls."
While Chelsea acceded Lionel Messi's salary request and 70% of his image rights, the deal collapsed when the Argentine told his dad when asked about his potential move to London:
"I don't know what you're talking about, I swear."
And just like that one of the potential biggest deals of all time collapsed. Messi would stay on at Barca for seven more years before leaving on a free transfer to PSG. Two years later, he would move to his current club, MLS side Inter Miami.
How Barcelona legend Lionel Messi fared against Chelsea?
Lionel Messi is one of the best players in the sport's history, scoring over 800 goals for club and country. He spent a spectacular 17-year spell at Barcelona, striking a club record 672 strikes.
Three of those goals - in 10 games - came against Chelsea. After eight scoreless outings - all in the UEFA Champions - La Pulga struck in the 1-1 draw at the Blues in the 2017-18 season before scoring twice and bagging an assist in the 3-0 second-leg win, which put Barca into the quarter-finals.
The Barca legend, though, struggled against Chelsea, both individually and collectively, winning only twice in 10 meetings and losing as many times, bagging three goals and as many assists.