“Real Madrid were interested in him when he was young" - Lionel Messi's ex-agent claims La Liga giants wanted to sign Barcelona legend
Barcelona legend Lionel Messi's first agent, Horacio Gaggioli, recently disclosed that clubs like Real Madrid and Arsenal were once interested in signing the player. Messi's journey in Europe began at the age of 13 when he traveled to Barcelona from Rosario, Argentina to join Barca's youth academy La Masia.
Horacio Gaggioli became Messi's first agent and was instrumental in the Argentine legend signing his first contract with the Catalan giants in February 2001. Soon, Messi climbed the ladder from the youth academy to the senior team, making his senior debut in October 2004.
In a recent interview with Koora (via MARCA), Gaggioli revealed that Barca's rivals, Real Madrid were interested in signing Lionel Messi when he was at La Masia. The former agent said:
“Real Madrid were interested in him when he was young, he was 16 or 17 years old, but Leo never wanted to leave Barcelona."
The agent also spoke of Arsenal's interest in the legendary forward and added:
“Yes, Arsenal showed interest in signing Messi early in his career, but he didn’t want to leave Barça."
Lionel Messi was forced to leave Barca in 2021 after the club was unable to renew his contract due to financial constraints and La Liga's wage rules. He joined Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) as a free agent before moving to his current club Inter Miami last summer.
“It was a very difficult moment. Leo didn’t want to leave Barcelona, but circumstances arose that forced him to do so,” Gaggioli revealed about Messi's departure from Camp Nou.
Lionel Messi has been vocal about his loyalty towards Barcelona multiple times in the past. In 778 appearances across all competitions between 2004 to 2021, Messi scored 672 goals and 303 assists for the Catalan giants. He is widely considered the club's greatest player of all time.
When Barcelona legend Lionel Messi called Real Madrid the "best team" in terms of results
In a recent interview with InfoBae, Lionel Messi was asked which team is the best in the world at this point. The Argentine legend mentioned both Real Madrid and Manchester City for different reasons. Messi explained:
"The best team, if we have to say, is Real Madrid, because they are the reigning Champions League winners. If you talk about results, it's Madrid; if you talk about style of play, personally, I like Guardiola's [Manchester] City."
La Pulga further appreciated former coach Pep Guardiola for his tactics and coaching style and added:
"I think any team with Guardiola will be special because of his character, his way of coaching, and how he makes his teams play. In terms of style of play, for me, City is the best; for results, Madrid."
Lionel Messi faced Real Madrid around 47 times across competitions in his career, recording 26 goals and 14 assists against them. Messi won 20 games, drew 11, and lost 16 games against Los Blancos.
Some of Messi's most memorable goals and moments came against Los Blancos. Two of them were a brace in the 2011 UEFA Champions League semi-final and his famous jersey celebration during La Liga in a 2017 El Clasico.