'Messi was tempted to go to Arsenal', says former agent

Lionel Messi’s former agent, Fabian Soldini, has claimed the Barcelona star was ‘tempted to go to Arsenal’ at one point in his career.

Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy has honed the talents of many great players in their youth, including a certain Messi. The one great drawback, however, is how often they become prey to other clubs.

We’ve seen Hector Bellerin, Mikel Arteta, Jordi Cruyff, Andre Onana, Adama Traore, and countless others all leave in their youth for tempting opportunities elsewhere.

One famous case was Cesc Fabregas, who left Barcelona as a 16-year-old for Arsenal in 2003. He spent the following eight years in north London, becoming club captain before returning to Camp Nou.

On this day in 2003, Cesc Fabregas joined Arsenal from Barcelona.

Cesc quickly became a fan-favourite and captained the club from 2008 to 2011. pic.twitter.com/EhTl9WXZ3K

— AFTV (@AFTVMedia) September 11, 2020

But it turns out things could have gotten a lot messier for Barca, with Soldini revealing just how close their current skipper was to joining Fabregas at Arsenal in 2003 himself.

The Argentine’s former representative told Marca: “[Messi] was tempted to go to Arsenal, but he didn’t go.

“I remember the day that Cesc asked to leave. Messi was also asked to go, but he didn’t want to leave.”

Soldini’s statement coincides with Arsene Wenger’s admissions over the years regarding his failed attempts to Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.