Lionel Messi is leaving Barcelona as their greatest ever player - but things could have been very different.
Messi’s Nou Camp exit has been confirmed after 21 years with the club releasing a bombshell statement on Thursday evening.
It marks the end of an era which might never have got going if Arsene Wenger had managed to get his way back in the early days of Messi’s career.
Already a top youth prospect having been signed from Newell’s Old Boys as a 13-year-old, Messi was identified as a future superstar by Arsenal scouts along with Cesc Fabregas and Gerard Pique.
Speaking to beIN SPORTS in 2019, Wenger revealed: “We were in discussions with [Messi] when we bought Fabregas, because Messi played [with him].
“You can realise sometimes what fantastic youth teams you had before when you’re a club like Barcelona. In the same team, Messi, [Gerard] Pique and Fabregas.
“Pique and Fabregas came to England [with Manchester United and Arsenal respectively], Messi stayed in Spain.
“We were interested in him, but he was untouchable at the time,” Wenger conceded.
Whilst he was already “untouchable” at the time, few could have predicted quite the heights Messi would go on to hit at Barcelona.
Francis Cagigao, the legendary former Arsenal scout who first identified Messi, has also given inside detail on their interest.
But he admitted that a move was “impossible” with clubs around the world already keen.
Where will Lionel Messi go next? Comment below.
“We had identified Messi and we wouldn’t have been the only ones,” Cagigao revealed to Goal last year. “I remember there were a couple of Italian clubs and obviously Spanish clubs who were very aware of Messi.
“But he couldn’t play national level because of the restriction on his status in the country at the time. He could only play regional games for Barcelona.
“So, yes, there were talks between myself and representatives, and we got a very good feeling that there was a possibility that the player would want to join us.
“But, once we’d delved into the situation and looked at it from a legal point of view, we very quickly saw that it actually couldn’t happen.
“It was impossible. So, that was discarded once we saw that.”
The legalities involved work permit regulations and Messi stayed at the Nou Camp anyway.
It has previously been reported that Messi has been intrigued by the prospect of playing in London having kept in touch with Fabregas throughout his career.
But given current circumstances, a move to the Gunners looks just as impossible as it was all those years ago.
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