A former Real Madrid official has disclosed that the club was offered the opportunity to sign Lionel Messi in 2001, when the Argentine was a 14-year-old playing in Barcelona's youth system. According to the revelation, Real Madrid chose not to pursue the transfer to avoid damaging relations with their historic rivals.
The offer reportedly came during Messi's early development at La Masia, before he made his first-team debut for Barcelona in 2004. The decision to decline the approach meant Messi spent his entire professional career at Barcelona until 2021, becoming the club's all-time leading scorer and winning numerous titles including ten La Liga championships and four UEFA Champions League trophies.
