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Barcelona legend Lionel Messi has been a one-club man up until this stage of his career. The Argentine joined Barca as a 13-year-old kid, broke through the youth system to become a constant in the senior team, and moved ahead to establish himself as the greatest player in the history of the club.
Since making his first official appearance in the Blaugrana jersey against Espanyol on October 16, 2004, Lionel Messi has moved forward to represent the Catalan giants in 778 games, recording 672 goals and 305 assists to his name. This is the highest tally of goals and assists anyone has bagged for a single club in history.
However, Messi's status as a one-club man could change this summer. Barcelona have released an official statement saying they won't be tying the attacker to a new deal amid their financial constraints and the wage cap policy enforced by La Liga. While reports have started linking the attacker with a move away from the Camp Nou, several reliable sources believe he could stay put.
This isn't the first time Lionel Messi will be linked with a departure from Barcelona. There have been a couple of times a similar situation has popped up in the past. Below, we highlight five of them.
#5 Arsenal (2003)
Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger revealed that the Gunners were really close to prising Lionel Messi away from Barcelona in 2003. According to the Frenchman, the Londoners were in negotiations with Barcelona for the signature of Cesc Fabregas when the opportunity to sign Messi came up.
The Argentine was one of the most promising talents in the Blaugrana's youth system during that period, alongside Fabregas and Gerard Pique. Arsenal signed Fabregas and Pique moved to Manchester United, but Lionel Messi remained at Camp Nou.
#4 Inter Milan and Juventus (2005)
When Lionel Messi started taking the football world by storm in the early phase of his professional career, he attracted interest from Juventus and Inter Milan. While Juve made an official bid to sign the attacker, Inter took a step further by offering to pay his release clause worth a massive €150 million.
Joan Laporta, who was Barcelona's president at the time, later revealed:
“They [Inter] were prepared to pay the €150 million buyout clause, which is why we [later] raised it to €250million, but I always felt reassured by my relationship with his dad, Jorge."
“I told him, ‘They’ll have to pay the clause because I won’t sell. He’ll be happy here, he’ll get glory. There, he’ll only win financially. Your son’s destined to be the greatest in history and here he’ll have a team to help get there. He’ll enjoy it.'”
#3 Tito Vilanova's episode (2014)
Barcelona suffered a torrid campaign in 2013/2014. They lost to Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey final, conceded the Liga title to Atletico Madrid at the Camp Nou and were sent packing from the UEFA Champions League by the Rojiblancos at the quarterfinal stage.
The disappointment was too much for Lionel Messi to bear. The Argentine approached ex-Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova, who was battling cancer in the hospital to inform him of his decision to leave the club. However, the Spaniard managed to change his mind and stayed put.
#2 Tax issues (2016)
Lionel Messi was accused of tax evasion by Spanish authorities in 2016. His father Jorge Messi, who acts as his agent, was also probed. The Argentine was penalized with a fine of €255,000 despite pleading innocent to the charges. Left disappointed by the drama the situation caused, he reportedly got tired of life in Spain and considered leaving the country.
He admitted during an interview with RAC1: "At that time, I thought about leaving, not because I wanted to leave Barcelona but because I thought about leaving Spain. I felt badly treated and I didn't want to be there any longer.''
#1 The burofax saga (2020)
The clash between Lionel Messi and former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu in 2020 led to the Argentine shocking the football world by submitting an official request to leave the club.
Although Messi had a deal with the Catalan giants until the summer of 2021, there was a clause in the deal that allowed him to terminate his contract with the club and leave for free at the end of every season.
Despite agreeing to let Messi go if he exercised the option, Bartomeu refused to honor it. Messi eventually decided to stay put and complete the last year that remained on his contract. The Argentine later revealed that he would've won the case on legal grounds but went on to admit that he wasn't willing to be embroiled in a battle with a club that gave him so much in his career.
