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Lionel Messi has spent the entirety of his playing career with Barcelona after joining the club's academy when he was just 13. In the intervening years, the Argentina international has gone on to cement his legacy as the greatest player in the club's history.
Lionel Messi's story and Barcelona's are so deeply intertwined that it is impossible to think of one without the other. Considering all of his achievements at Camp Nou, the thought of Messi wearing a club colour other than the maroon, red and blue of the Blaugrana seems unfathomable.
However, despite his unquestionable loyalty, there have been several occasions when Lionel Messi has come close to leaving Barcelona.
Five times Lionel Messi came close to leaving Barcelona:
Each of these instances had varying degrees of probability, with some really close to happening, while others were mere media speculation. On that note, let's take a look at five times Lionel Messi came close to leaving Barcelona.
#5 2003 (Probability: weak)
In 2019, former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger revealed that the Gunners were interested in signing a then untested Lionel Messi in 2003.
The Rosario native at that time was earning rave reviews in the Barcelona youth teams but was a year away from making his senior debut.
He had teammates like Cesc Fabregas and Gerard Pique. While the latter two left Spain for England within a year (before returning later), Lionel Messi stayed put and became a first-team regular in less than two years.
Speaking to Being Sports in 2019 (as reported by FourFourTwo), Wenger said about Lionel Messi:
“We were in discussions with Barcelona when we bought Fabregas, because Messi played (with him). You can realise sometimes what fantastic youth teams you had before when you’re a club like Barcelona. In the same team: Messi, (Gerard) Pique and Fabregas.''
Considering that Lionel Messi was already ripping record books apart in Barcelona at that time, big things were expected of him. So, it is hardly feasible that the club would have sanctioned his sale to Arsenal.
Moreover, Wenger has consistently claimed that the Emirates outfit were close to signing virtually every world-class player in the last two decades early on in their careers.
In light of the same, Arsenal's reported interest in Lionel Messi 18 years ago might not have amounted to much.
#4 June 2014 (Probability: weak)
The 2013-14 season was Lionel Messi's worst at Barcelona both on a personal as well as collective level.
Barcelona lost in the final of the Copa del Rey to a Cristiano Ronaldo-less Real Madrid; Atletico Madrid ended their UEFA Champions League ambitions at the quarter-final stage and also wrested the La Liga from them on the final day of the season in front of a packed Camp Nou.
It was also a campaign that saw Lionel Messi struggle with injuries, with four different fitness issues ruling him out for over three months during the campaign.
There was also the issue of Tito Vilanova's battle with cancer weighing Messi down, and all that reportedly led to a feeling of weariness on the part of Messi, which reportedly made him consider leaving Barcelona.
Vilanova's assistant Jordi Roura spoke about the incident in 2019 and said that the late Barcelona manager eventually convinced Messi to stay, saying:
"It was a time when Tito was at a delicate point. and it's true that at that time. Leo wasn't clear on staying. They met, and although I wasn't there, I know they were talking for hours. From there, he changed his mind and saw some things more clearly. I don't know what they spoke about, but Messi decided to stay, and we hope he does for many years."
There was no official bid for the 33-year-old, while he has also not publicly admitted to wanting to leave. So there was no real threat of Lionel Messi leaving Barcelona in 2014.
#3 2005 (Probability: Strong)
Lionel Messi started to become a mainstay in the Barcelona first team in the 2004-2005 season. He signed his first professional contract in June 2005 after turning 18. His buyout clause at that time was €150m.
Messi impressed in the Joan Gamper trophy against Fabio Capello's Juventus that summer and received a standing ovation from the Camp Nou.
Impressed by what they saw, Juventus made an offer to loan Lionel Messi, while Inter Milan offered to pay his €150m release clause and triple his wages.
According to Joan Laporta, that was the only time Barcelona came close to losing Lionel Messi during his first tenure. Speaking about the incident, Laporta told Lionel Messi's father:
“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’.
Laporta also revealed Inter Milan's willingness to pay the full value of Messi's release clause but stated that he believed Lionel Messi was destined to become a Barcelona legend. He said in this regard:
“They were prepared to pay the €150m buy-out clause, which is why we (later) raised it to €250m, but I always felt reassured by my relationship with his dad, Jorge. It was 2006 when Inter made an offer.”
Lionel Messi signed another contract with Barcelona in September 2005, just three months after his first. That extended his commitment to Barcelona to 2014, while also raising his release clause to €250m.
#4: June 2016 (Probability: Very Strong)
Lionel Messi was charged with tax evasion by the Spanish authorities, and both he and his father/agent Jorge Messi were found guilty of tax fraud in June 2016.
A prison sentence of 21 months was handed to Lionel Messi, which was later reduced to a €255,000 fine. Lionel Messi constantly pleaded his innocence in the issue and said that he felt victimised by the Spanish government.
That led to a desire to leave the club, with Messi admitting to RAC1 about the incident:
"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. I had the door open to many teams, even if there were no official offers because they all knew I wanted to stay at Barcelona. In that case, the situation went beyond what I felt for my home. It was a personal issue."
That same summer, Manchester City reportedly made enquiries about Lionel Messi, which the player admitted about seriously considering. The prospect of playing under Pep Guardiola and alongside his close friend Sergio Aguero made Lionel Messi think about a move to Manchester City. That, however, didn't happen, much to the relief of Barcelona and their fans.
#5 August 2020 (Probability: Very Strong)
The summer transfer window of 2020 began relatively slowly owing to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The world was, however, sent into meltdown when news filtered out that Lionel Messi had submitted a formal request about his intention to leave Barcelona. That came a week after the club's embarrassing defeat to Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League.
News outfits went into overdrive trying to find out the intricate details about the development, while the less-informed instantly googled about 'Burofax.'
It emerged that the six-time Ballon d'Or winner was disillusioned with the way the club was being run and cited a perceived betrayal from disgraced former president Josep Bartomeu as the key reason for him wanting to leave.
Despite being tied to the club till the summer of 2021, a clause in Messi's contract gave him the right to terminate his contract and leave for free at the end of every season.
Messi's lawyers tried to argue that the extension to the season owing to the pandemic meant that their client still retained the right to terminate his contract. But Barcelona held firm that the full value of his release clause must be paid before a transfer could be sanctioned.
Eventually, Lionel Messi reneged on his decision and has once again proved to be a difference-maker in what might be his final season at Camp Nou.
It remains to be seen what the next step will be for the Barcelona icon. But the re-election of Joan Laporta has given fans hope that Messi could extend his association with the club.
