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After the deal collapsed, Lionel Messi remained at Barcelona for another seven years.
Lionel Messi and Deco at Barcelona (FIFA)
Premier League giants Chelsea were on the verge of completing the biggest transfer in football history 11 years ago. In 2014, Barcelona legend Lionel Messi considered leaving the club amid a tax evasion case. The multi-time Ballon d’Or winner was reportedly more than open to joining Jose Mourinho in the Premier League that season. Journalist Gianluca Di Marzio revealed in his book Grand Hotel Calciomercato that it was Deco who intervened to prevent the deal from happening. An extract from the book, shared by Sky Sports in 2020, claimed the Portuguese international informed Messi’s father and agent Jorge that the player had been in contact with Mourinho.
When Chelsea tried to sign Lionel Messi over a decade ago, Jose Mourinho did the difficult part of convincing the forward to leave his beloved club. He persuaded the Argentine to move to West London, but Deco and Jorge Messi ended up getting in Chelsea’s way. Being left in the dark was clearly not something Messi’s father appreciated, and soon, the deal collapsed.
Roman Abramovich was never one to play about when it came to signing big names. The former Chelsea owner was willing to pay £70 million for Franck Ribery in 2008. He was also prepared to offer Barcelona an enormous fee for Lionel Messi six years later. As per the same book, Chelsea were prepared to trigger the World Cup winner’s £210.9 million release clause while offering him a stellar wage package. Given that the player in question is Messi, the deal probably would have been worth it. Intervention from Jorge Messie and Deco, however, saw Abramovich’s dream never come to fruition.
Deco, a former Blue himself, competed at Stamford Bridge from 2008 to 2010. He helped the club win one Premier League title and two FA Cups. The Portuguese footballer would have left London as a popular figure, but the revelations in Gianluca Di Marzio’s book may have decreased his popularity among Chelsea supporters.
After the deal collapsed, Lionel Messi remained at Barcelona for another seven years. He went on to win a treble under Luis Enrique’s management in the 2014/15 season, just one year after the transfer speculations. Messi also spearheaded the most prolific attacking trio in LaLiga history, forming a formidable attacking front with Neymar and Luis Suarez. He eventually left for Paris Saint-Germain in 2021 after Barcelona failed to offer him a new contract due to financial constraints.
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London, United Kingdom (UK)
