Joan Laporta confirms he refused an offer from Inter to sign Leo Messi and reveals he rejected the chance to sign Cristiano Ronaldo in 2003. ‘But I have no regrets.’
The former Barcelona President, who is now a candidate for the Blaugrana’s presidency, has confirmed he rejected an Inter bid to sign Leo Messi in 2006.
Joan Laporta confirms he refused an offer from Inter to sign Leo Messi and reveals he rejected the chance to sign Cristiano Ronaldo in 2003. ‘But I have no regrets.’
The former Barcelona President, who is now a candidate for the Blaugrana’s presidency, has confirmed he rejected an Inter bid to sign Leo Messi in 2006.
“Real Madrid have never made an offer, but we received an incredible bid from Inter. It was worth almost as much as his release clause. We refused it and I didn’t change my mind when they made a higher offer,” he told El Larguero.
Laporta revealed in November Inter’s offer was in the region of €250m.
The ex-Barcelona president also revealed he refused the opportunity to sign Cristiano Ronaldo in 2003.
“We were about to sign Ronaldinho and Rafa Marquez. The agent of the Mexican defender offered us to sign a player called Cristiano Ronaldo. He was playing for Sporting CP at that time. He told us: ‘I’ve already sold him to Manchester United for €19, but you can sign him for €17m.’ We refused the offer as we had already signed Ronaldinho and I have no regrets.”