Fabio Capello reveals that he tried to sign Lionel Messi for Juventus before the attacker became the best player in the world.
Messi has arguably cemented his place as the greatest player of all time after helping Argentina win the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
The attacker is in top form despite the fact that he is now 35 years old and looks set to win another Ballon d’Or at the end of this season.
Former Juve boss Capello says Messi impressed him in a pre-season competition and asked Barcelona to sell him to Juve, but the Catalans refused.
He said via Calciomercato:
“I’ve been in love with Messi since I saw him make his debut with the Gamper trophy,” said Capello, “and after twenty minutes I asked Rijkaard to give it to Juventus. But it wasn’t possible.”
Juve FC says
Messi has always been a talented player and appeared on the scene early in his career, but Barça also knew they had a gem on their hands.
They certainly would have felt foolish if they had agreed to sell him to Juve at the time, and we would have been the owner of arguably the best talent in the world in the last decade.
