The owner of 8 Golden Ball titles was tempted and almost joined Arsenal.

In a recent interview, Lionel Mesis’s former agent, Fabian Soldini, recalled that Arsenal almost had the services of Lionel Messi when he was a young player training at the famous La Masia.

In 2003, when Arsenal signed the signature of young talent Cesc Fabregas, they also tried to attract Lionel Messi and received the sympathy of the Argentine star.

Sharing with Marca, Fabian Soldini said Messi was “tempted” by the English team, but in the end he still chose to stay and not leave like his close friend Cesc Fabregas.

Messi almost joined Arsenal with Fabregas (Photo: Getty)

“I remember the day Cesc asked to leave. Messi was also invited, but he stayed at Barca,” Marca quoted Fabian Soldini as saying.

After joining Arsenal, Cecs Fabregas quickly adapted to the new team and became the youngest player to appear in the Gunners’ first team squad, at just 16 years and 177 days old.

As for Messi, the 16-year-old young man encountered many difficulties at Barca due to his small body. However, with his genius qualities, Messi soon left his mark at the Nou Camp before turning his journey at Barca into history.