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Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Chelsea pushed to sign Lionel Messi from Barcelona in 2014.
The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner spent over 20 years at Barcelona. No one ever thought another club would be able to convince Messi to leave the Blaugrana up until last summer when PSG signed him.
Several clubs attempted to convince the Argentina international to leave Barcelona during his time in Spain. Messi, though, never considered putting an end to his association with the Catalans.
Chelsea were among the clubs who tried to sign Messi during his time with the Blaugrana. Like other teams, the Blues also failed with their attempt to acquire the forward's services.
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Romano has now lifted the lid on the London giants' pursuit of Messi in 2014. The Italian journalist disclosed that the club never came close to landing the Argentinean despite pushing to sign him. He said on his YouTube channel [via Barca Universal]:
“It was not that close but Chelsea were really trying to sign Lionel Messi in 2014, with Jose Mourinho as the manager. They were really pushing to try and persuade Messi to join them. They [Chelsea] were contacting people close to Leo Messi, discussing with lawyers close to Messi to try to convince him for a new opportunity in the Premier League.”
"But then everything collapsed because Barcelona were something special for Leo Messi. He decided together with his family to stay in Catalonia and continue his experience with Barcelona. Roman Abramovich wanted Lionel Messi. He was seriously trying to sign Messi as the new star for Chelsea but the deal collapsed.”
While the Blues failed to convince Messi to move to the Premier League in 2014, they shook hands with Barcelona over another deal that year. They acquired the services of Cesc Fabregas from the La Liga giants for around €33m.
The Spain international had a successful stint at Stamford Bridge, winning five trophies including the UEFA Champions League. Messi, on the other hand, went on to achieve more success at Barcelona.
Chelsea failed to sign top players like Lionel Messi under Roman Abramovich
Blues owner Roman Abramovich has put the club up for sale. He has decided to put an end to his association with the European champions on the backdrop of his relationship with Russia.
With the Abramovich era coming to a close, Fabrizio Romano looked back at the top five deals that collapsed during the Russian's tenure as Blues owner. Apart from Lionel Messi, they also failed in their efforts to sign Roberto Carlos, Neymar, Luka Modric and Jules Kounde.
