Lionel Messi could have spent a year at Juventus as, back in 2005, Fabio Capello wanted to bring him to Turin.
The Argentinean contract had expired on June 30 and he had an agreement to extend his stay at Barcelona for five more years. However, the Catalans could not close the deal “because of financial and structural obstacles.”
Joan Laporta explained the reasons behind Messi’s Barcelona exit during a press conference on Friday morning.
PSG and Manchester City are believed to be in pole position to secure the services of the Argentinean striker who, back in 2005, could have joined Juventus.
The at the time, Old Lady’s coach Fabio Capello asked his former player Frank Rijkaard, who was in charge of Barcelona, to loan Messi out to the Bianconeri for one season.
It happened during a Trophy Gamper encounter between Juventus and Barcelona at the Nou Camp in 2005.
“I think I’ve never seen a player with so much quality for the age he has,” Capello said at a press conference after that game in 2005.
“He has personality, pace, everything. it was a pleasure to watch him.”
“I had never seen an 18-year-old playing with such personality in front of 90,000 fans,” the coach added in an interview released in 2020.
“After 20 minutes, I asked Rijkaard if I could sign him for one season, but he said no.”
Juventus will now face Barcelona in the Gamper Trophy on Sunday. The first Barcelona match of the post-Messi era.