The Glasgow Rangers signed Barcelona players in the early 2000s and paid a huge amount of money for Mikel Arteta and Ronald de Boer.
But those at Ibrox brought Lionel Messi almost from the Catalan Giants, and he broke into the first team at Nou Camp.
Argentine idol is correctly recognized as one of the best footballers of all time, and has not looked back since his Barcelona senior debut since 17 in 2004. He spent 17 years in Barcelona and then signed to Paris Saint-Germain and Miami.
|
Lionel Messi’s main honors |
Win in one year |
|---|---|
|
Ballon d’Or |
2009, 2010, 2011, 2011, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2023 |
|
World Cup |
2022 |
|
American Cup |
2021, 2024 |
|
Champions League |
2006, 2009, 2011, 2015 |
|
La Liga |
2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019 |
|
Ligue 1 |
2022, 2023 |
|
UEFA Super Cup |
2009, 2011, 2015 |
|
Club World Cup |
2010, 2012, 2016 |
|
Copa del Rey |
2009, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021 |
|
Spanish Super Cup |
2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2018 |
|
Supporter’s shield |
2024 |
|
MLS League Cup |
2023 |
|
Olympic gold medal |
2008 |
|
French Super Cup |
2022 |
Messi won all the victories in the game, including eight Ballon d’Or awards, and he finally won World Cup glory with his country in 2022.
But if those in Glasgow go, it might be so different for the magician.
How the Wanderers almost signed Messi from Barcelona
According to the goal report, Rangers actually asked Barcelona for borrowing Messi before his senior debut. Unfortunately, these efforts were turned down by the Nou Camp people, but Alex McLeish’s son Jon found Messi.
McLeish talked about how his son’s love for football managers in 2003 reminded him to Messi, who was looking for a replacement for Barry Ferguson.
“My son Jon is the champion manager. He keeps giving me names in South America. They come out of the sky and say ‘Lionel Messi will be the best player in the world’.
“He was only 13 or 14 at the time. You dismissed it, but the Rangers were scaling down and we were looking for some quality in the midfield.
“Barry Ferguson went to Blackburn, so we lost a guy who would catch the ball in any stadium anywhere in the world. We needed that cat’s player again.
“Jan Wouters called Henk Ten Cate, the assistant to former The Ex-Dutch International Frank Rijkaard.
“Youn called him and said, ‘Messi?’ We don’t have a chance.”
Jon’s prediction of Messi becoming the greatest in the world is accurate, which shows that football managers can have in real life.
