According to a sensational new report in Spain, Real Madrid have tried not once, not twice, but three times to sign Barcelona’s Argentine superstar Lionel Messi. The Partido de las Doce programme on the Cadena COPE radio station first brought out this extraordinary story.
The radio station claimed that the representatives of Los Blancos approached Messi in 2011, 2013 and 2015 but were left empty handed on all three occasions. The Argentine talisman recently won a record fifth Ballon d’Or and has been an integral part of the astonishing successes achieved by the Catalan side.
The first attempt was made in 2011 when Ronaldo himself was rumoured to be interested in a move to Manchester City. The second attempt was made in June 2013 after Madrid had lost out on Neymar with Florentino Perez allegedly instructing a Real executive to unite the two best players of the world in the same team.
The final bid was made last year after Messi’s Barcelona played superbly throughout the season dominating both Europe and La Liga. However, on all three occasions, Real Madrid were knocked back.
Florentino Perez who has pulled off some outrageous transfers in the past perhaps hoped for a bit too much when he tried to add Messi to his team of Galacticos.
Players moving between Barcelona and Real Madrid is rare but not impossible
Transfers between the two bitter rivals have taken place before, with some big names making the shift between the two Spanish powerhouses. However, such instances have never been short of action and controversy.
Not many people know that Real Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stefano had initially signed for Barcelona in the year 1953 after a dispute over his signature with Real. The Spanish federation came up with a ludicrous solution where Di Stefano would play alternate seasons at both clubs, however, Barcelona withdrew from the agreement in protest leaving Di Stefano free to sign for their great rivals Real Madrid.
The most famous transfer between these two clubs in recent times has been that of Luis Figo from Barcelona to Real Madrid. The transfer which broke the world record at that time caused a lot of acrimony between the two sides with the Portuguese being subjected to a variety of insults and missiles including even a pig’s head when he returned to Camp Nou in November 2002.
The current Barcelona manager Luis Enrique had also changed his allegiances when he shifted from Real Madrid to Barcelona in 1996. Though Messi did not make a move to Real Madrid, Perez really had a go in making the dreams of all fantasy football fans come true.
