Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player. Lionel Messi at Stamford Bridge in a blue shirt? Chelsea were on the verge of pulling off the great coup in , when Jose Mourinho charmed the Barcelona superstar to move to the Premier League, reveals Sky in Italy's Gianluca Di Marzio….
Talks unfolded in the middle of the tax evasion probe opened by the Spanish government against Messi's family in , which by the player's own admission made him consider leaving the country.
In his latest book Grand Hotel Calciomercato , a diary of the untold stories of the transfer market, Di Marzio reveals how a "box office" face-to-face video call with Jose Mourinho persuaded Messi to make the switch. However, it was the involvement of his father and agent Jorge and former team-mate Deco that made the deal collapse like a "soap bubble that bursts and vanishes in thin air" despite personal terms being agreed. It's also claimed Real Madrid president Florentino Perez tried to secure Messi on the same basis a year before Chelsea, but the Argentine turned down the approach because of his status at Barcelona.
Mount: Grealish and I connect, we can play together. Havertz: Premier League games are 'exhausting'. Premier League announces pay-per-view fixtures. Read the full excerpt below to discover just how close Messi came to becoming a Blue Now close your eyes and picture this: Messi to Real Madrid, boom. The biggest coup of all time. Indeed, Florentino Perez tried to pull it off in , sending a few of his most trusted representatives to make an enquiry for their most feared rival.
The plan was expected to be carried out via the payment of his release clause - million Euros to be paid, in cash, to Barcelona. Perez could have used that same fee to restructure the Bernabeu, but instead he allocated it to attempt bringing Messi to Madrid.
